Hot and Cold
by Fallen Ark Angel
Summary: As the bitter winter only gets more brutal, nearly everything else in Annabel's life is heating up. Too bad that's not always a good thing... Follows Winter Freeze.
1. Chapter 1

Hot and Cold

Chapter 1

"Bet you guys have some awesome pool parties out here."

I hardly glanced up as Lucas came into the back yard, no doubt taking in the covered pool. As we were now in February and the winter showed no signs of letting up, I hadn't even thought about something like that. Shifting slightly from the chair I was in, I shook my head.

"Not since Kirsten lived here. She was the one that liked to have people over. Not Whitney."

"What about you?"

That did get me to look up, though it was more from the fact that he had decided to take a seat at the outside table, right next to me. I glanced over at the house, watching my sister through the glass for a moment as she and my mother made dinner. She didn't like for me to talk to her boyfriend. She had made that abundantly clear. Not to mention, Owen didn't like me to talk to him either, so really, I had no business even looking at him.

Still, it seemed rude not to, considering he was sitting out in the cold just to hold this conversation. Besides, Owen and Whitney do not control my life. In any way. Not to mention…Lucas is pretty hot. And interesting. And intriguing. And different. And way older. And kind of, sort of, at least I think, into me. Maybe. At least to some extent.

"I don't…hang out with a lot of people," I said slowly before looking down at my phone. "And Owen's not really a people person."

"Where is your boyfriend anyways? Why isn't he over?"

"He's working," I told him simply. "Not to mention, I don think that Dad could put up with you and him at the same time again. He didn't seem to like it much last time."

"Your father, man," Lucas said with a shake of his head before looking around. "You guys have a pretty nice house though. What does he do again?"

"Architect."

"That's cool, I guess. Different."

"What does your dad do?"

He looked at me then before shaking his head slowly. "He's, uh, you know, dead."

I blushed then, embarrassed for having never known this. Here I was, trying to actually make a friend outside of Owen and Rolly and I was screwing up royally.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I didn't-"

"It's whatever. He died when I was a kid." Lucas let out a slow breath before grinning at me. "My mother works for a bank though."

Okay. Neutral ground again. He wasn't upset with my lack of knowledge. Good.

"A bank?" I asked slowly. He nodded.

"A teller."

"That's cool."

"Yeah." He nodded at my phone. "Your boyfriend?"

"Oh, no," I said before holding it up to him. "I'm just playing a game."

"Outside? In the cold?"

I shrugged slightly. "I just didn't want to get roped into having to help them make dinner."

"You don't cook?"

"No."

"Your sister likes it."

I made a face before looking back down at my phone. "My sister and I are very different people."

"No kidding. You're nothing alike." He was still smiling though. "You remind me of one of my sisters though. She's older than you, of course."

"You have a sister?"

"I have three. All older."

"And a brother," I said then. "Right? That's who you were visiting when Whitney got mad at you."

He nodded. "My brother's the oldest. Then my three sisters. And then me."

"You're the baby then?"

"Was for a long time. Till I was eight. Then my youngest sister was born."

"You have four sisters then?"

"Mmmhmm. And they all suck." He shook his head. "Trade them all in for more brothers in a heartbeat."

"I feel that," I said.

"How would you know? You have no brothers."

"And?"

"You might hate them worse," he told her. "Besides, your getting a brother-in-law soon."

"I hardly know him," I told him. "And as it stands right now, Kirsten doesn't really like him either."

"Your dad like him?"

"Less than he likes you."

"Ooh. That's rough."

Nodding, I added, "That's only because you haven't asked Whitney to marry you though."

"He shouldn't hold his breath on that one anyways," Lucas told me with a shake of his head.

I smiled as I said, "I don't even get why you want to be with my sister."

"It's weird," he told me simply. "She's such a…a…"

"Bitch?"

His grin never faded. "You said it, not me."

"She's better than Kirsten."

"From what I know, that is very, very true." He gave his head a shake. "You just don't see your sister the way I do. When you see us, we're always bickering or whatever. That's just how we play."

"Oh?"

"Like how you and your boyfriend play that sweet, innocent garbage with each other. Whit and I just argue for fun. When we're alone though, it's different."

"If you say so."

"It is," he told me with a nod of his head that time. "We spend nearly every day together. Which is hard, considering we have such different schedules. But she'll make me dinner or lunch, even though she doesn't eat much. I'll take her out places, like bars or clubs or whatever even though I work at one and have no real desire to go to one on my days off. She'll sit through basketball or football with me, even though she just sits on the couch next to me and texts on her phone. And I'll watch a marathon of some contrived reality show because that's what you do when you have a girlfriend."

I glanced over at the house then, watching my mother that time through the glass. Then, slowly, I said, "You're, like, the longest boyfriend she's ever had, I'm pretty sure."

"Yeah," he said slowly. "I know."

"She doesn't show it well, but she really does like you."

"Got the bruises to prove it." He laughed then, that loud one that used to make me blush. "Don't tell her this or anything, but I'm pretty stuck on her too."

"Why wouldn't I tell her?"

"It's better for me, you know? Keeps her on her toes when she thinks I could do without her."

"I'm sure you could."

"Oh, I could. Just don't want to at this point." He glanced at the house then before back at me. "Say, can you tell me something?"

I glanced at the glass too before back at him. "What?"

"She's not…sick anymore, is she? Or whatever it was that was wrong with her?"

I just stared at him before shrugging. "I don't think so, no."

"She only ever tells me that you guys, you know, overreacted about some shit."

Now I was at a crossway. Owen told me to be honest, but Whitney clearly hadn't told Lucas much for a reason. And it was her truths, not mine.

Taking notice of my hesitation, Lucas shook his head. "You don't gotta say nothing if you don't want. I mean, she's your sister, you know? And I know she used to, like, puke or something, but-"

"It was really, really bad," I told him. "If you could see the way she was when she got back from New York…well…and then I found her in the bathroom, passed out and…"

He leaned forwards again, keeping eye contact with me once more. "But she's better now. Right?"

I looked off. "I…I think so. But if she wasn't…"

"If she wasn't what?"

"If she wasn't, you wouldn't know."

He laughed at me then. "I think I would notice, you know? If she started vomiting every time we ate together."

Still, I just stared and repeated. "You wouldn't know."

Lucas sat out there with me for a few more minutes, though that was the end of that conversation. When he finally did get back up to head inside though, he stood slowly before unzipping his jacket.

"It's too cold," he told me simply as he walked around the table to lay it over my shoulders. "Don't stay out here too long."

My blush was back so hard then, but he didn't seem to notice or care as he headed back into the house. One look up told me someone did though, as I made eye contact somehow with my sister, through the panes of glass between us, as she glared heavily at me. Still, I just pulled his jacket closer.

I might not have a brother or a brother-in-law yet, but I had Lucas. And that counted for something.

* * *

"-angry with me and told me to stay away from her boyfriend. Like, what? I mean, we just talked. God. She knows that. I get that this is her only real boyfriend, but she doesn't have to be a dick to me because of it, does she?"

Owen didn't say anything for awhile and I figured he was digesting my rant-like monologue. Then, slowly, he said, "He gave you his jacket?"

"Oh, Bear."

"It was just a question."

"It was cold outside. That's all. God."

He let out a long breath. "So anyways, what did you tell Whitney?"

"That I can do whatever I want and if she's so insecure about her relationship, then maybe she shouldn't be in it."

"Really?"

"No," I sighed. "You know how I get. I could only nod my head."

"Poor Bella."

"Poor me."

"So I had something to tell you."

I shifted on my bed, holding my cell phone closer to my ear. "Oh?"

"You know how I told you that I kind of sort of know the guy that created UMe, but not really?"

"He likes your radio show."

"Yeah. Well, he's, like, loaded and is giving me two hundred dollars to help put together a mix for his wife."

"That sounds like a lot."

"I know. He asked me what I would charge him and I jokingly told him two hundred. And he agreed."

I made a face. "Are you sure he wasn't confusing Anger Management for Story of My Life? Because I have it on good authority that-"

"Annabel."

I smiled in the darkness. "What does he want the CD for?"

"Valentine's Day."

"Mmmm. What are we doing?"

"I dunno."

"Owen-"

"I seriously don't. I didn't have to worry about it last year, being grounded and all."

"Yeah."

"And we hadn't been together that long."

"Well, now we have, so you are totally going to have to, like, blow me away."

"Really?"

"Really."

He let out a groan. "I feel like it's very likely that I will screw this all up."

"So do I."

"Hey-"

"And it'll be okay if you do. I'll love you anyways." I smiled in the darkness. "Tomorrow's Saturday."

"I know."

"What are we doing?"

"Working. Or, well, I am."

"Bear-"

"I can't help it, Annabel."

"I know," I sighed. "It's just annoying. Will you, like, even be of for Valentine's Day?"

"Hope so. If not-"

"Owen-"

"-we can do something another day. Alright?"

"Every other boyfriend I've had has been a lot more-"

"Then get another boyfriend, Annabel. If I have to work, I have to work."

So that's where we were then, both in the darkness of our own rooms, having a phone call that neither of us really wanted to.

"I should let you go then," I said slowly. "So you can go to bed."

"Bella-"

"Goodnight."

"No. I'm not tired," he argued. "I just-"

"Love you."

"No, Annabel. Stop it. Let's just-"

"Tell me you love me now because I'm hanging up right after."

"…I love you."

"Goodnight."

"You-"

After I hung up, I turned my phone off before rolling over and going to sleep. I knew in the morning I'd be in trouble with him, but honestly, what else was new?

* * *

A doorbell ringing awoke me. Saturdays were the only real days that I could sleep as long as I pleased, as I had no radio show and no school to worry about. So I planned to just roll over and ignore it. But the ringing would not go away. Finally, groggily, I pushed out of my bed before heading out of my room. My parents bedroom door was closed and I assumed they must be out, for them not to be up or at least attempting to get up to answer the door.

I was on my way down the stairs when I realized I could have just looked out of, oh, the thousand or so glass panes to see who it was, but I had been too sleepy to think of that before. Besides, it was probably just Owen, trying to make up before he went to work. That was how our fights normally went.

It was not until I was at the door and opened it that I found out I had been wrong. Owen had no doubt blown up my phone the night before and was still stewing. So no, it wasn't Owen at the door. Instead it was the last person I was expecting.

"Uncle Danny?"

He looked me up and down for a moment, standing on the other side of the door. "Your daddy let you answer the door this way?"

I was in too much shock to be embarrassed about my booty shorts and tight t-shirt I wore to bed. Instead I just moved to wrap my arms around my father's brother, who laughed and hugged me back.

As my mother was an only child and my father only had one brother who had never had any children, he was really my only close family. All my grandparents were dead, so he was the last connection any of us had to anything. He used to come around all the time, when my sisters and I were kids, but Mom had never liked him much and eventually that stopped. Before that moment, I hadn't seen him in about four years.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, quickly ushering him into the house and out of the cold. A light snow had graced the ground overnight and it was pretty bitter out there. "Uncle Dan?"

"What? I can't come see you?"

"You can, but-"

"Where's your daddy then?" he asked, patting me on the head before moving to take off his jacket and kick off his boots. He no doubt remembered how serious Mom was about her carpet. "Still in bed?"

"I'm not really sure. I can go up and check."

"Can you do that for me? Huh?" He looked around the house then before nodding towards the kitchen. "I'll make a pot of coffee."

"Okay."

As he headed off, I went up the stairs and down the hall to my parents' bedroom. Stopping short in front of it, I knocked softly against the door. Not a minute later, my mother opened the door.

"Is Dad home?"

"Why?"

I glanced passed her, but their bed was empty. Guess not. "Um…well…"

"What's wrong, Annabel?" she asked, opening the door wider to stare at me. "Is it-"

"Uncle Danny's here."

"What?"

I nodded. "In the kitchen."

She just stared at me for a moment before closing the bedroom door. "I'll be down in a minute. Tell him your father's out and won't be back until the afternoon."

I took a moment while I was upstairs to get dressed myself before rushing back down the stairs to my uncle. He was in the kitchen, looking through our fridge then as the coffee pot rumbled.

"Dad's out," I told him, causing him to look back at me. "Mom says that he won't be back until the afternoon. She'll be down in a minute though."

He nodded slightly before closing the fridge. Slowly, he walked over to the kitchen table and took a seat. I took a moment then to look over my uncle, taking in his raggedy beard he had always had, as well as his overwhelming height. He had a few inches on my father, which was saying something.

"Sit," he told me, nodding at the chair in front of him. "Unless you had somewhere to be-"

"No," I told him with a shake of my head, moving to sit down. "I was actually asleep."

"It's a sleepy day," he agreed, looking around again. "You're what? A freshmen now?"

I made a face at him. "You know that I'm senior."

"A senior?" He feigned shock. "My, my."

Rolling my eyes, I asked, "Why didn't you tell anyone that you were coming?"

"Didn't plan to. Something came up though that I need to talk to your daddy in person about."

"What?"

He gave me a look. "Do you look like your daddy? 'cause you sure don't to me."

Blushing, I looked down at the table. "Sorry. I just-"

"Your daddy though, he's been telling me some things."

"Like?"

"Last year was a very busy year," he told me. "For you guys, it seems."

I assumed this was some vague comment about the cheating thing and only shrugged slightly. What else did he want me to say? At least Mom was finally leaving her bedroom. Either that or he was talking about the whole Cash thing and there was no way that I was going to talk to my uncle about that. No way at all.

"Heard you got a boyfriend, too."

"Well," I said slowly. "Yeah."

He grunted. "Then the other one's off getting married and knocked up."

"Yeah, there's that."

"And that middle one, she's doing what?"

"She has a boyfriend too," I told him. "She's working."

"Guess you can't just leave for years and expect things to stay the same, can you?" He shook his head slightly. "You got a date tonight then?"

"Huh?"

"With your boyfriend."

"No," I said with a shake of my head. "He has work."

"What's he do then? Huh?"

"He delivers pizzas."

"Then I guess I know what we're having for dinner tonight, huh?" He grinned at me then. "We can't just let the baby run around with whoever she wants. I gotta at least meet the guy."

"I'm not a baby anymore," I told him with a shake of my head. "I'm an adult."

"You are the baby," he corrected. "You've always been the baby. And as it stands now, you always will be."

It was then that my mother came into the room, sighing loudly as she did so. Uncle Danny quickly got up, going over to her.

"Grace," he said, laughing slightly. "It's been too long."

"Not long enough."

"Grace-"

"Drew's out," she told him as she went over to the coffee pot, frowning when she saw it already turned on. "So perhaps you should just go back to your hotel and-"

"I want to spend the day with Annabel," he said, winking over at me then. "She says that she has nothing to do anyways."

"I'm sure you can find something else to do in Lakeview than bother my daughter."

"Than spend time with _my niece_? No, I can't. Not to mention, Grace, look around." He gestured out the glass part of the house. "There's snow all around. It's supposed to ice this afternoon. You want me to take her out in this?"

"Go back to your hotel then."

"Hotel?" He laughed. "I'm staying here, of course."

That got her to turn around. "You are not."

"I am too. You have two bedrooms open now, only Annabel staying here. Andy won't-"

"_Drew_ won't let you stay if I tell him you can't."

"What is wrong with us then, Grace? When are you going to just let bygones be bygones?"

"Try never."

I just sat at the table, never quite getting used to my mother and uncle's hatred of each other. Growing up, when my uncle was around constantly, their bickering always made me upset. Many of their fights ended with me in tears and my father yelling at both of them about how they were upsetting me. This of course led to teasing from my sisters, who called me a crybaby, but I had never been able to help that much. Confrontations had never been my strong suit.

Uncle Dan let out a long sigh before heading out of the room and into the living room. "We'll just see what Andy has to say."

"I'm sure that Drew agrees with me."

Why is it that problems follow me everywhere? Why?

* * *

It turns out that Drew or Andy wasn't concerned with either of them when he got home. Instead, Andrew was neither of those and was instead just Dad, completely centered in on me.

After greeting his brother and promising Mom that he'd take care of everything with Uncle Dan, he asked for me to go talk to him in the garage. I was immediately suspicious, running through my head a thousand things that he could possibly know about that would qualify for us to have such a talk.

Had he found about Owen and I sleeping together? Or did Whitney tell him that he needed to tell me to tone it down around Lucas? Had he found out about me getting drunk that last Saturday of winter break? Or that Owen's mother walked in on he and I? What? What could he possibly want to talk about?

"Is something wrong with one of the cars?" I asked my father as we stood out there in the garage, him going over to his tool box. "Because I'm not really sure I can be of any help. I don't-"

"No, no, it's not that," he said with a sigh. "When I saw your uncle's car outside, I knew what would be waiting for me in here."

"How were you sure it was his car?"

"I might have kind of known he was coming," Dad said with a slight shrug. "Or at least I know what he's here for. I'm pretty sure at least."

"And what's that?"

He just shook his head at me and I let it go, as I knew that I would eventually find out about it. In a family as small as ours, you eventually find out about everything.

"There is something I wanted to talk to you about though," he told me as I wrapped my arms around myself. It was freezing out in the garage.

"And what's that?" I asked, glancing back at the door before looking at him. "Am I in trouble?"

He raised an eyebrow, turning to look at me. "Should you be?"

"…No?"

"Annabel-"

"No," I said, more definite that time. "I haven't done anything."

"Good," he said before nodding his head. "Very good."

"Then what did you want, Dad?"

He took a deep breath before letting it out slowly and saying, "It's about your sister."

That made me roll my eyes, relaxing some. "Dad, Whitney and her boyfriend aren't-"

"Not that sister," he said with a shake of his head. "Believe it or not, I don't really care what Whitney does with that…guy."

"Lucas, Dad."

"Lucas," he agreed slowly. Because the thing about my dad was, no matter how upset he got at the start of something, once he realized that it was impossible for him to win, he would give in.

"It's about Kirsten and this stupid wedding."

Well, he'd give in about most things anyways.

"Dad-"

"Your sister and her stupid…whatever that guy is are fighting," he told me then. "Really, fighting."

"Yeah, I know."

"And your mother, she's just chalking it up to pregnancy hormones and all this garbage, but I know the truth."

"Okay," I said slowly.

"So anyways," he sighed. "I'm on a line for a lot of money for this wedding."

"Alright."

"And I'm going to tell you this, Annabel, just the same as I'll tell either of your sisters," he said. "I'm paying for one wedding for all of you. You do this one time, this wedding of your dreams garbage. After that, you go down to the courthouse and take care of it that way. I don't care if your first marriage was to a guy that beat you and your next one is to the husband of your dreams-"

"Dad."

He looked back at me. "Well, I care, Annabel. And if someone's hurting you, then yes, I really care. But I'm only paying for one wedding is my point."

I rolled my eyes again. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because your sister is thinking about calling off the wedding."

"Then you're happy-"

"No, Annabel. I'm not," he told me. "Or, well, I am. About her not marrying him, but I'm still out some cash for all this. She's already gotten her dress, I've booked the venue-"

"Then what do you want me to do, Dad?"

"I need you to calm her down, Annabel. Your mother is just as hysterical about all this as she is and Whitney is, well, Whitney and won't be of any help to anyone, but herself or her stupid boyfriend-"

"Dad-"

"The point is, Annabel, if I try to convince her, all I'll do is give her a way out. Because boy do I want her to find a way out," he said with a shake of his head. "Not to mention she doesn't even want to talk to me anymore unless we're talking money."

"What do you want me to tell her then?"

"Well, I don't know," he said with a groan. Then, after a moment, he said, "Explain to her that this counts. Whether or not she goes through with it, whether she signs the marriage license or walks down the aisle, this counts. This is her one wedding. Tell her that she had better not have wasted it."

I just stood there then, for a minute. Then, slowly, I asked, "So if Owen and I, like, wanted to get married now-"

"No."

"You didn't let me finish."

"What?"

"If I got married to him now, which yes I realize would be a horrible mistake-"

"Good."

"-and then I divorced him later-"

"You would."

"…You wouldn't let me have another wedding?"

"You could have as many as you want," he told me. "But I'm only paying for one."

"But-"

"For you…maybe another one. We'd have to talk about it," he said. "Just so long as you realize, that there is no reason for you to get married any time soon. Or even in the next five years. Or six years. Or-"

"I don't want to get married until I'm, like, at least twenty-five."

"Twenty-five," he said slowly. "What happens then?"

"I don't know. I just-"

"You shouldn't need to get married more than once, Annabel, anyways."

I made a face. "Like we're suddenly religious?"

"You sure got your butt up for church on Easter so you could get an Easter basket after, so I'd shut up, Annabel."

Something must have showed on my face, because he immediately sighed and told me he was sorry. My father snapped at people all the time, but I was never one of those people. Ever.

"I'm just stressed, sweetheart," he told me as I took a few steps closer to him. When I was within reach, he wrapped am arm around me, pulling me into an awkward hug. "Your sisters are killing me. And now Daniel's here and your mother's upset-"

"They were fighting over whether you go by Andy or Drew."

He kissed my head before letting me go. "To be honest, I would rather they just call me by my given name. Everyone else does. I don't understand the need to call someone by a nickname. At all."

I shrugged slightly. "Owen calls me-"

"I know what he calls you. Not to mention, I know you call him." Dad sighed then, glancing at the door back to the kitchen. "You can go now, Annabel, if you want."

"Are you going to stay out here?"

"For a little while," he told me. "Until I get up the courage to go talk to either of them. Don't forget to call Kirsten eventually. Please."

"Alright," I sighed before turning and heading back inside. It's not like I wanted to step back into the fray, but I really had no choice.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hey, Whitney, I-"

"Annabel, I'm busy right now. Is this important?"

"Well…" I sat there on my bed, holding my cell phone to my ear. "What are you busy with?"

"What do you want?"

"Are you at work?"

"No, Annabel. Just busy. What do you want?"

"Is busy like a codeword for sex or-"

"_What do you want_?" she repeated, harsher that time. I heard someone snigger in the background and knew she was with Lucas.

"Uncle Danny's here and-"

"What?"

'Yeah, I know. Anyways, we're having a dinner for him and-"

"I just went to dinner last night with you guys. So no, I am not coming over to-"

"Fine. I'll tell Mom you said no."

"Good. Do that."

"Whitney-"

"I'm busy."

"I hear the radio in the background and Lucas just laughed. You're in the freaking car."

She paused. "Are we done talking now or what?"

"Are you really not going to come?"

"Annabel, it's freaking icing out."

"Where are you going right now?"

"That's not important."

"Please, Whitney?" I didn't mean to sound so pathetic, but it's just how my voice decided to come out. "They've been, like, fighting all day and Owen got mad at me last night because I got annoyed with him and then he didn't call me so I don't even know if we're going to the show tomorrow and then Dad wants me to call Kirsten and convince her to marry Brian, but that's complete bull because he's been having us all try for so long to get her to realize what a horrible idea this is so-"

"Take a breath," she groaned. "What time is dinner?"

"I dunno."

"Well, it's three now. Should we come over now?"

"I don't know, Whitney."

"God, Annabel-"

"Then don't come. Whatever. You never do anything for me anyways."

"Oh, bull."

"You don't."

Whitney let out a loud groan then. "Lucas has work tonight, Annabel. And I had plans."

"What plans?"

That annoyed her even more. "I have friends, Annabel. Unlike some of us, when my boyfriend's busy, I don't sit around and mope about it."

I hung up on her then, shocked for a moment that she knew what Owen and I were fighting about. Then I was even more embarrassed when I realized she didn't; she was just using my normal pathetic life as an example. That's all I did. I clung to Owen for everything. Even my own sister thought so.

I ran into my father once again as I went down the stairs to tell him and my mother that my sister would be unavailable for the night. We met on the staircase and, after one look on my face, he made me stop.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, grabbing my shoulder as I tried to walk passed him. "Annabel? Is it Kirsten? Did she-"

"No, Dad," I complained, jerking away from him then. "I didn't call Kirsten about her stupid wedding."

"Oh." He just stared at me. "Then what exactly is your problem?"

I looked off then, down the stairs. "Whitney's not coming to dinner."

"Oh. And that makes you upset because-"

"Because then she told me that she has a real life with real friends and doesn't just wait around for her boyfriend to want to do something, unlike me because I'm a loser and-"

"Your sister said this to you?"

I finally looked at him. "Pretty much."

"I'll call her then," he said, turning to head back up the stairs. "I'll-"

"No, Dad."

"Annabel-"

"That's why they always call me a baby."

"You are a baby. And they need to stop bothering you. Just because you're not whoring yourself out like them-"

"Dad!"

He let out a loud groan then, finally heading all the way up the stairs. "Don't pay much mind to your sisters, Annabel. They're just jealous."

"Jealous?" The woman living in New York with her boyfriend and the other one that's, like, apparently having this great relationship with this extremely hot guy, are jealous of me?

"You're happy, Annabel. More so than either of them ever are these days." He glanced back at me as he made it to the top of the stairs. "That's the one thing you'll always have over your older sisters. They're miserable. So is your mother. Me and you though? We've got this. We always have."

I stood there for a minute after he walked away before shaking my head and continuing on. I got lumped in with my father a lot, over being with my mother. This had more to do with how much he favored me, of course, while my mother spent more time with my sisters. The thought of Whitney, Kirsten, and my mother being unhappy was not a wrong notion. It was more of the idea of my father and I being happy that shocked me.

Still, I continued on down the stairs, shaking my head as I went. It was my mother that I needed to inform, really, that dinner was off. She was the one that would want to know, after all.

I found her in the kitchen, no doubt avoiding my uncle, who was in the living room, while also being able to keep an eye on him. If there was anyone that she did not trust, it was her brother-in-law.

"Mom?" I walked over to the table, causing her to look up from her magazine. "Lucas has to work and Whitney has plans, so they can't come."

She seemed unconcerned with that though. "What were you and your dad talking about?"

"In the garage?"

"Just now. I heard him. He was being rather loud." She looked back down at her magazine. "Then again, he's always rather loud."

I just stared at her. "He was just…Whitney said…"

"Oh, he needs to lay off your sisters. Gosh, you'd think that he never had the thought in his head that they would grow up and date and get married and have children. Honestly, he is beginning to get on my nerves with all this."

"That's not-"

"Lucas is a fine young man. And Brian's…the guy that Kirsten has chosen. We all just need to learn to accept each others choices in life."

"Even when they're wrong?"

"Especially when they are wrong," she told me. "You think that my mother liked your father? Most definitely not. And my father hated him. He always hated him."

"Why?"

"Drew isn't the most…kind man in the world. Or he wasn't. Before," she told me slowly, thinking for a moment before looking up at me. "Where's Owen today?"

"Working."

"In this ice?"

I shrugged. "More people probably want pizzas delivered when it's like this, don't you think?"

"It's still dangerous," she told me with a shake of her head. "Though, I suppose it's a good thing that he's so driven about his work."

"Even if it's just delivering pizzas?"

I got a look for that. "Especially if it's just delivering pizzas. He wants something. Money. And he's willing to sacrifice now for it. When he finally finds what he's good at, he'll work hard at it."

"I guess so," I mumbled.

"It's a good quality, sweetheart. Believe me."

I just stared at her for a moment before saying, "So what are we going to do for dinner?"

"Leftovers, if Whitney and Lucas aren't coming. Besides, that man is not worth it."

"Mom-"

"I'm sure you have homework or something to take care of, Annabel," she dismissed me then, finished with our conversation if I was going to correct her on something. I just shook my head, going ahead and leaving her alone. It was better than fighting over a guy that I hadn't even seen in four years. I mean seriously.

* * *

"God, Owen," I complained as I opened the front door. "It's, like, freezing out."

"I don't care," he said as he moved to kiss me. It was only after we separated, that he said, "I had to see you. To make up."

"We're having dinner," I told him, turning my head when he tried to kiss me. "Seriously, it's cold. Come in so I can shut the door."

He did as asked, slipping off his boots and jacket at the door. After that though, he was immediately back to his first plan of attack, which was of course assault my lips.

"Bear," I complained, shoving against his chest slightly when he tried to push me up against a wall. "You have to knock it off. They're, like, just in the dinning room. Come on."

"I just came over to-"

"My uncle showed up," I told him as he moved to cup one of my cheeks.

"You're uncle, huh?" he asked, stroking my cheek then. I just turned my head.

"Come on."

"I have to get home and go to bed," he reminded me. "I have the show in the morning."

"It'll only take a minute."

So I led him by hand to the dining room, where my family was eating in a stony silence. Uncle Dan had tried to strike up conversations with Dad a few times, but a look from Mom usually shut that right down.

"I told you it was Owen," Mom said as we entered the room. Dad hardly looked up though, just continuing to eat his food. My uncle though wasn't that simple.

"So this is the guy then, ah, Andy?"

Owen glanced at me, but I just shrugged while my father sighed.

"He's better than the one that Kirsten's with. Believe me."

"Drew." Mom sent him a look before standing. "Sit, Owen. I'll go make you a plate."

"No, that's alright," he protested then. "I was just-"

"Sit," she repeated. "You didn't get to eat with us last night, well now you can tonight."

He glanced at me, but I just shook my head at him. He'd have to eat dinner anyways. What different did it make if it was at my house?

Dinner got no better with Owen there. Even he seemed to pick up on the awkwardness. He and my uncle were the only ones that really spoke, as Uncle Danny kept questioning him about things. Mom kept giving Dad these weird looks, but he was ignoring them for the most part. I just sat there, trying to wade my way carefully, as not to get on any of the three adults nerves while also keeping Owen from saying anything too radical. He had a tendency to just spout something off, when he got too nervous. That's how I found out that the first time his mother took him out to teach him to drive, he hit and killed his neighbor's dog.

All throughout that awkward dinner though, Owen kept trying to touch me. He'd bump our knees under the table, hold my hand, rub my thigh. I guess our day long fight had gotten to him or something. I was honestly just glad that he wasn't angry with me, as he typically was when something happened.

"So you deliver pizzas," Uncle Danny was say then as Owen continued to eat. I knew that once he saw we were eating 'real food' as opposed to whatever vegan meal awaited him at home, he'd dig right in. "What does the other one do?"

"Other one?" Owen asked.

"Kirsten's boyfriend."

"Fiancé," Mom corrected while Dad rolled his eyes. "And he's studying to become a teacher or something. That's how he and Kirsten met, at her college."

"All he's really learned is how to be a bum," Dad grumbled which got him a sharp look from Mom.

"Right," Uncle Dan said, nodding his head at my father. "And what does Whitney's boyfriend do?"

"Nothing."

"He's a bartender, Dad," I said, taking my turn to make a face at him. "That's where he is tonight. And he actually gets pretty good tips, so-"

"Tips? Here's a tip. Get a real freaking job."

"Not everyone can build glasshouses, dear," Mom told him simply. "Especially not when so many stones spew from their mouths."

"Grace-"

"Or do you not remember all the _jobs_ you had when we were young?"

"Alright, Grace."

Owen glanced at me, but I just reached under the table then to rub his thigh. This, of course, did not have the same effect as it did on me and it turned out to feel more awkward than anything.

"Lucas," Uncle Dan said slowly. "I want to meet that one."

"And why's that?" Dad asked him, more or less to end his mini-argument with my mother. "Dan?"

"These two, I can see with boyfriends. The other one though-"

"How about you keep your opinions to yourself because last time I checked-"

"That's not how he meant it, Grace," Dad sighed, clearly exhausted.

"I'll keep my opinions where I want my opinions," my uncle said then. "Thank you."

"You're going to let him talk to me that way, Drew?"

"What's he going to do then, Grace? Kick his own brother out?" Uncle Dan laughed then. "Yeah, I'd see that day."

"Would you guys stop it?" I asked then, frowning. "Why did you make Owen stay, Mom, if you're just going to freaking embarrass me?"

"Annabel-"

"No, Dad. They-"

Owen's phone went off them, making things even more gauche, if that was possible. When he retrieved it from his pocket, he sighed before slowly standing.

"It's my mom," he said as an apology before heading out of the room, towards the living room. I was glaring at my mother then, though that was more because she was the one sitting in front of me.

"Annabel, I'm sorry," Mom said simply before standing. "I'm finished eating anyways. I'm sure one of you three could do the dishes tonight? Preferably the one that's not supposed to be here?"

Neither my father nor uncle said anything to her. When she was gone though, my dad did speak.

"You can stay, Daniel, but right now, Grace and I are going through some things. You know that. I don't need you causing more problems than I already have."

"That's not what I'm trying to do, brother. I just came to spend time with my family."

"Yes, well, this just wasn't a very good time, was it?"

Owen came back then, keeping his eyes on me.

"Mom needs me," he said simply, coming to grab his plate and take it into the kitchen. I quickly jumped up to follow him, those words springing my curiosity.

"What's going on?" I asked Owen as he went to scrape his leftovers in the trash. My mother was shockingly still in the kitchen, beginning to put away leftovers. "Owen-"

"Mallory needs me."

"For what though?"

Mom glanced up from the counter then, where she was putting some things in Tupperware. "Owen, before you go, here, take these to your mother."

He frowned, glancing over at her. "Uh-"

"None of it's meat. All vegetables," she told him. "Unless you want some of the pot-roast for yourself-"

"I just really need to go," he told her then, moving to rinse his plate off. I moved to grab it then, doing it for him instead.

"Annabel, help him take these out to his car," Mom told me. "Here, you can just take the whole roast, Owen. Do you have time to stop by your house though? Before you go to…where are you going?"

"My aunt's house. But I need to go home first anyways."

"What about the show in the morning?" I asked him then. "Do I need to-"

"Rolly has the playlist. If he meets you up at the station in the morning can you-"

"Yeah, of course."

"Thank you for dinner," he told my mother then as he went to grab some of the Tupperware. "And for the leftovers."

"Of course, honey," she told him then as I picked up the rest of the stuff. She moved to give him a hug then, which made me frown slightly. My mother liked Owen more these days than she had in the past, but she was being way too kind. Maybe she was just feeling bad about how she had acted at the table. "And if you guys need anything, you call okay? Especially your mother."

He nodded then before looking at me and nodding to the doorway. I followed him out, having to wait at the door for him to get his boots and coat on.

"You really don't have to come out here," Owen told me as I followed him to the car. I had slipped on my shoes, but not a jacket. "You're going to, like, get hypochondriac or something."

I debated it for a moment before saying, "I think you mean hypothermia, Bear."

He just groaned. "I'm really not in the mood, Bell."

"Sorry."

After we put the stuff in the car, he gave me a kiss before telling me that he would call and explain in the morning.

"I'll be listening to the show, Bell," he told me then. "So don't screw it up."

"Considering I'm a better DJ than you-"

"Annabel-"

"Take care of your sister, Bear." I gave him a kiss before turning to run off towards the house. I was freezing my ass off. "Love you. Be careful."

He waited for me to make it into the house before even getting into the car. And then I watched him from the windows inside to see him leave before heading back to the kitchen to do the dishes. After all, there was no way I really thought my uncle would take care of them. I mean seriously.


	2. Chapter 2

Hot and Cold

Chapter 2

"Thank you for coming, Lucas."

"Oh, no, it's really no problem," he assured my mother. "I was off anyways. Besides, I work on Valentine's Day and this totally counts for that, right, Whitney?"

"No," she told him flatly. "But it's stupid to celebrate a dumb holiday anyways."

I was still sitting on the couch by that point, staring out the glass front of the house. Whitney and her boyfriend had arrived for our stupid dinner for Uncle Dan, but it was honestly Owen that I was waiting on. He hadn't been in school for the past two days and also hadn't been going to my radio shows with me. He promised that he would come to dinner though and that was what I was waiting on.

"Hey, Annabel," Lucas greeted me as he and my sister came into the living room.

"Hey."

"Where's Uncle Dan?" Whitney asked me as Mom came into the room as well.

"Him and Dad are in the kitchen," I told her. "Talking."

She nodded at Lucas then before heading in there. He just smiled at me while I pretended to be preoccupied with the television. Mom sighed before moving to take a seat next to me on the couch.

"You worried about something, dear?" she asked me as I looked back out the glass front of the house.

"No."

"Has Owen been okay?"

"We've just been texting," I told her. "He's busy. He said he'd be at dinner though. He promised."

"Is his sister alright?"

I shrugged slightly. "He doesn't like to talk about it."

"Well, how has school been then?"

"It's been fine," I told her, slightly suspicious about her staying in there with me. I mean, Whitney was in the house at that point. Usually that would be her cue to chase after her. Although, I suppose it was my uncle that was keeping my mother away.

Uncle Dan had been staying with us since he gotten into town and since then, everyone in the house was on edge. Especially Dad. He had already gotten in the middle of at least ten fights between my mother and his brother. After the most recent one, last night, he had told them both that he was not going to tolerate it anymore. He said that they were both adults and it was time that they started to act like it. Since then, my mother had resorted to just avoiding my uncle. I wasn't sure how long that would last, however.

"You've been taking care of all the college stuff, right? Applications were due for-"

"I know, Mom. I know what I'm doing."

"Okay," she said, shaking her head. "I just want you to get in where you want to get in, Annabel."

"Yeah, I know."

"Has Owen been-"

"I've told you before, Owen's not going to college."

"You say that," she told me. "But-"

"I say it because it's true."

She patted me on the shoulder then. "He does have a lot going on, I suppose."

"Yeah," I said, nodding my head. "He does."

"How long is he staying?"

We both looked up as Whitney came back into the room, Lucas right behind her.

"I don't know, sweetheart. Why don't you ask him?" Mom suggested. "You know your father is going to let him stay in Kirsten's room until we all die if he wants."

"Well, he needs to stay out of my room."

"Why?" I asked. "You don't stay in it anymore."

I got a look for that, but not a response. Lucas just went to take a seat in the chair.

"So," he said slowly. "When's dinner?"

"Are you hungry now?" Mom asked, moving to stand. "I can go get you-"

"Mom, he can wait. Trust me," Whitney said as she sat on my other side. "Where's your boyfriend, Annabel?"

I knew she wasn't asking out of interest, but rather out of paranoia. She didn't want me to spend the night talking to her boyfriend again.

"He'll be here soon," I assured her. "He promised."

"Promises," Lucas snorted. "Never make those."

"Shut up, Luke."

"Whitney." Mom sent her a look. "Don't be rude to your guest."

Lucas got his big grin then on his face before pulling out his phone, no doubt about to start to text. Whitney made a face at him, but he wouldn't look up then, instead giving his phone all of his attention. I went back to looking out the window, hoping that Owen showed up soon. As much as I hated it, he really was the only thing I had to look forward to anymore.

It wasn't until my mother got up and left the room that Whitney had me switch places with Lucas so they could be closer together. I knew what she was really doing; it was only when Lucas was next to her that she could see who he was texting. Still, he either didn't care or didn't pick up on that, instead just draping an arm over her shoulder and grinning once more.

"You look desperate," Whitney told me as I sat down in the chair, though I kept my eyes trained at the glass. "Honestly, Annabel."

"Leave her alone, Whit," Lucas said, elbowing her then. "Why do you care if she wants to be around her boyfriend? Normal women do. It's just you that would rather I not be around ever."

"I've never said that."

"Your actions say it constantly," he said, still texting away. She wasn't even hiding the fact that she was reading what he was saying, but Lucas seemed completely at ease. I watched them for a moment before shaking my head and looking back out the glass.

Whitney, leaning up against her boyfriend's arm by that point, said, "I'm not trying to be mean, you know."

"To me? No, I don't know," Lucas told her.

"You, Annabel," she said, no doubt rolling her eyes at him. "I'm just trying to help you."

"Help me how?"

"It's just not a good relationship. I've told you that before. You're both far too dependant on one another."

"Whatever, Whitney."

"No, Annabel, I'm just-"

"What? Trying to make me look like a loser in front of your stupid boyfriend? Newsflash, I don't want Lucas. So you can stop being a bitch to me about it, alright?" I stood up then, heading out of the room. "I have no friends, Whitney, whatever. You're not hurting me by bringing that up constantly. Just because you're miserable, doesn't mean the rest of us have to be. So just leave me alone and I'll leave you alone and we can go back to what we've always been? Okay?"

She didn't come after me as I headed up the stairs, but I did hear Lucas tell her something harshly under his breath. I didn't care though. They were both jerks. I didn't want to really see either of them the rest of the night.

When I got to my room, I checked my phone to see if Owen had texted me, but he hadn't. We had spent the whole night last night sending each other messages back and forth. Then I had had school, which didn't go well for me. I had promised Owen that I wouldn't spend any time with James or Kyle while he was gone, so I spent my day alone and my lunch in the library.

Still, the weariness that I had fought off all morning and afternoon was forcing its way back to the forefront of my mind. I figured that I could just lay down for a little bit, that Owen would eventually text me or knock on the door or something. Until he got there, I didn't really have anything to do anyways. So I just laid down and took a nap.

Well, I meant for it to be a nap. I ended up falling into a deep, deep sleep. I hadn't been sleeping well recently, though that was nothing new. I could take some great naps though, after school. In fact, it had almost fallen into my routine of what I always did. That must be why I slept right through Owen pulling up and ringing the doorbell.

"Annabel?"

My door creaking open woke me. Opening my eyes slightly, I blinked sleepily while staring at Owen, who was standing in the doorway to my bedroom.

"Are you okay?"

Now I was.

"Mmmmhmm." I moved to sit up as he came further into the room, looking rather cute in his sweatshirt.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, coming over to drop a kiss on the top of my head. "Road wasn't good and then I got stuck over at Cam's for awhile."

"That's okay." I was still kind of sleepy and wasn't really sure of what was going on. Yawning, I said, "I'm just glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you too, Bella." He grinned then before shaking his head slightly. "Your mom said to tell you that dinner will be soon. And Lucas wanted me to ask if you were okay."

"I'm fine."

"He said your sister was-"

"Can we not talk about sisters today?"

Owen nodded slightly. "That's perfectly alright with me."

* * *

Dinner was just as awkward as all our family dinners had been as of late. At least Dad wasn't hounding Lucas like usual. Instead, he kept trying to compliment Mom on the food, but it was coming off as fake.

Owen spent dinner much like he had at our last one, feeling the need to be in constant contact with me. I just ignored him though, never quite getting over that sleepy feeling. I must have looked pretty sad or depressed or something, because about halfway into the meal, Whitney spoke, though it wasn't kind or caring; she was annoyed with me.

"Stop moping, Annabel. My God, I didn't even mean to hurt your feelings."

That got me to look up, though I just stared blankly at her. I really wanted them all to leave so that I could go back to bed.

"Huh?"

That seemed to spark something in Dad, who decided to speak up as well.

"That reminds me," he said before looking over at Whitney. "You need to stop picking on your sister. On Saturday you had her very upset about-"

"Drew."

"Dad!"

"Oh, please," Whitney said, rolling her eyes. "You still do that, Annabel? Going to tell on me when-"

"Whit, knock it off," Lucas mumbled. "Seriously."

"Oh, whatever, Lucas. You don't even know her and yet you keep taking up for her."

"Yeah, Whit, I do, because you're acting like a-"

"Alright, kids, calm down," Mom said then, not looking too interested herself. "Whitney's sorry, Annabel. There. Everything's fixed."

"Everything is not fixed, Grace," Dad said then. "Whitney-"

"Dad, leave it alone," I pleaded. "God."

"Well," Uncle Dan spoke up, looking around the table. "I'm glad to see that no one's too concerned with me over here even though this dinner was _for_ me."

Whitney was glaring at me now, not even concerned with her food. And what had I done to her anyways? Nothing. I hadn't done anything to her. If anything, I only ever do things for her. And yet she constantly feels the need to put me down. I mean, God, if she's campaigning for worst sister ever, she can just stop; she's already won by far.

Owen, who was rubbing my thigh under the table still, looked ready to say something. He even opened his mouth to. The only thing that stopped him?

The power went out that exact moment.

"Well shit," Dad grumbled as me, my sister, and our boyfriends immediately pulled out our cell phones to use a light sources. Mom, Dad, and his brother though had all gotten up to find flashlights (Dad), light candles (Mom), or rustle a lighter out of the pocket and use it (Uncle Danny). The generational gap was never more obvious, I don't think.

"This damn weather," Dad was cursing, finally pulling his own phone out to use as a light, though he just used resumed his search for flashlights. "I'm about done with this winter."

"That's what you get," his brother taunted him as he stood as well. "Moving up north. Faggot country's what it is."

"Daniel," Mom snapped at him then while Lucas finally reverted back to his old self and started giggling. That got him a sharp hit from Whitney, though it didn't shut him up any.

"God, you're worrying about your sister," Lucas said, "but I'm way more interested in your uncle."

"I think that's what he meant by faggot-"

"Drew!"

"Dinner's over," I told Owen then, moving to grab his plate and my own. "It's time to go home, Owen."

"Bella-"

"You think that I'm going to let him drive back home, Annabel? When the storm just knocked out the power?" Mom asked, finally just snatching the lighter from her brother-in-law to light some of the candles she had found. "I'm most certainly not."

"Which means I can finish eating," Owen said, snatching as well, though it was his plate back from me. Groaning, I slouched back in my chair. I just wanted the night to be done with.

"It does look pretty horrible out," Dad said then, walking out of the dining room and into the kitchen, no doubt to look out the glass. "You might not even have school in the morning, Annabel."

"Probably will," I told him softly, still not really wanting to speak to any of them at all. "We've missed so many days already."

"I have to get back to Cam's house. Mallory-"

"Not in this weather, you're not," Mom told Owen sharply as she took a seat at the table once more, sighing slightly. "Until this passes, you're staying right here. All of you. And you, Owen, are not driving out of town. You are going to go home, to your real home, when the storm passes. It's too icy out for you to be driving on the highways."

"She'd send me out in the storm in a second," my uncle told us all. Lucas laughed again, causing Whitney to hit him and my mother to cut her eyes at him. When he saw Mom looking at him, Lucas sobered before moving to begin eating again.

"It's kind of romantic or whatever now," he said then, trying to cover himself. "In the dark. Candles. Right?"

That got him a softer hit, but still a hit. Then Whitney told him to shut up before standing, taking her mostly still filled plate with her. My mother was luckily too distracted to notice that and say anything about it. Lucas just smiled at me after she was gone, wagging his eye brows like he had the first few times we spoke. I didn't blush for once, so score one for me, I guess.

"Hope there's no school anyways," Owen said then, more to me than anyone.

"Why? You'll skip anyways."

"Yeah, but then it won't count."

"Skip?" My mother looked at him then, there in the darkness.

"To be with Mallory."

"I thought you couldn't miss anymore?" she asked. "That's what Annabel said."

"That was last semester," Owen told her. "I can miss just as many days this semester."

"Your mother isn't worried about-"

"She's just focused on Mallory for now," Owen told her then. "And besides, I'm pretty sure I could take the GED test right now and still pass it."

"I'm not," I told him which got him to finally stop stroking my thigh.

"Well, your opinion doesn't matter in this," he told me.

"You really got to learn to talk to your chick, man," Lucas said with a shake of his head. "Seriously."

"You really need to learn to mind your own business. Seriously."

"Owen." I gave him a look. "Knock it off."

"Why is it that we can never just have a dinner? Huh?" Dad came back into the room then, shaking his head.

"It's just a storm, Drew," Mom told him gently. "It'll pass. Just like everything else, it'll pass."

Whitney came back then, carrying the pie she and Mom had baked. Setting it in the center of the table, she then turned to leave, only coming back when she had dessert plates and a carton of ice cream in the other hand. Not even speaking, she moved to take her boyfriend's mostly empty plate away, heading back into the kitchen once more.

"Why don't you do stuff like that for me?" Owen asked as, when Whitney came back, she cut Lucas a piece of the pie as well as got his ice cream.

"Because," I began, still picking at my dinner. "You always want seconds."

I got a slight shoved for that, but I also smiled for the first real time that night.

* * *

After dinner, me, Whitney, and our boyfriends moved to the living room to watch movies. Not before Dad and I got stuck doing the dishes first. After though, he and his brother stayed in the kitchen, drinking beers while watching the ice come down. Mom had retired up to her bedroom for awhile, leaving us alone.

I was stretched out on the couch, my head in Owen's lap, while my sister was in her boyfriend's lap as he was seated in the chair. Lucas seemed to be the only one focused on the movie though, as Owen and Whitney were both texting while I was trying (and failing) not to fall asleep.

"We need to go soon," I heard Whitney tell Lucas at one point, though I could see them as my eyes were closed.

"You don't work in the morning, do you?"

"No, but-"

"Then we can stay awhile longer," I heard him say, though he seemed distracted. He was no doubt still watching the movie. "Besides, it's snowing now. Don't want to drive on snow and ice."

"It's not going to clear up any time soon and-"

"Whit, if you want to leave right this second, just freaking say so. If not, be quiet; I'm trying to watch- You need to freaking stop elbowing me."

"Then stop being a jerk."

I shifted on the couch then, causing Owen to begin to stroke my head once again. Opening my eyes, I yawned slight before asking what time it was.

"It's only ten."

"Only," I repeated back to Owen. "God, I'm tired."

It was then that my mother came into the living room, standing there for a moment, staring in at all of us, before sighing.

"At least the power's back on," she said then. "Though I don't much like how bad it still is outside. And who knows when it'll go out again? It's only a matter of time before someone that shouldn't be out hits a power line or something. Have you text your mother, Owen? To tell her that you won't be heading back to your aunt's tonight?"

"I called," he assured my mother. "She said that was fine, just so long as I get home okay."

I sat up then, shifting away from Owen slightly. "When do you think it'll clear up then, Mom?"

"Trying to get rid of me?" Owen mumbled to me, but I didn't respond as my mother shrugged.

"I don't know, sweetheart. I haven't even checked the weather."

"I think I should just leave now," Owen said then, but Mom shook her head before walking off.

"Why do you want to leave so badly?" I asked him.

"You want to go to sleep," he told me. "And I'm honestly bored. I wish that I had brought some of my videogames or something."

"Next movie's your choice, bro."

"Next movie?" Whitney asked, frowning. "No, Lucas. We're not-"

"I don't feel like driving, alright?"

"Then don't. I'll drive."

"Like I trust you to drive. Ha. My impala is a work of gold. We're close and everything, Whit, but not even near that close."

"Oh, bull. I drive it all the time."

"Only when I want you to. And right now, I do not want you to. I know how jealous you are of it."

"Of your car?"

"It's a beautiful car," he told her before reaching over to the coffee table to pick up the DVD player remote. Pausing the movie, he said, "I'll be back. Gotta go to the bathroom."

Whitney reminded him where the one down stairs was before getting out of his lap, allowing him to get up. As he took off, she just sat back down in the chair, sighing slightly. That is until she noticed that Lucas had left his phone behind on the coffee table and picked it up.

"Do you really go through his phone?" I asked her, frowning.

"He doesn't care. And that's not what I'm doing."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Mine's about to die and the charger's in the car. Unless he's going to get it for me, then I'm going to use his phone to text. Either that or we could just leave like I want, but he's acting like a-"

And then the power went out again. Not a minute later, the sound of sirens could be heard.

"I think your mom jinxed us," Owen said as Whitney moved to stand in the darkness. She was probably going to help her boyfriend navigate through the dark house. I guess.

"It was a crappy movie anyways," I said as he stood too. "Are you leaving?"

"Mmmhmm."

So I followed him through the darkness to the front door. There was some light coming in through the glass, but not much. As I stood next to him, watching him put on his boots, Mom came into the front hall.

"What are you guys doing?"

"Owen's going home," I told her.

"No, he's not."

"Mom-"

"Owen's going to spend the night."

That got him to stop what he was doing. "I am?"

"You are. You're going to sleep on the couch tonight, if this storm doesn't clear up in the next hour."

We both shared a look then, Owen and I. Then, slowly, he began to take his coat and boots back off. That worked for us. That really, really worked for us.

When we got back to the living room, Dad and Uncle Danny had come in there, armed with flashlights, pointing them at Dad's bookcase as they looked for something.

"Leaving so soon, Owen?" Dad asked as we came into the room.

"No," I said, shaking my head.

"Owen's spending the night, Drew," Mom told him. That got him to almost drop his flashlight.

"What?"

"He's going to sleep on the couch," she told him.

"No, he's not."

"Yes, he is."

"Grace-"

"I can just go," Owen said then as I sat back down on the couch. Mom had already spoken; Owen was staying.

"No, Owen. It's too bad out there for you to be driving. You're going to spend the night on the couch," Mom said.

Dad let out a loud groan before looking back at his bookcase. "If that's what you think is a good idea, Grace, by all means. Spearhead this."

It was then that Whitney and Lucas came, him pouting and accusing her of causing the power outage some how as a way to get them to leave.

"Yes, Lucas. I made the whole block lose power just so you couldn't finish your stupid movie."

"I know. You don't have to confess. I never had my doubts."

"Oh, shut up, you- Ow!"

"Ha ha," her boyfriend taunted as she ran into the corner of the coffee table. "That's what you get."

"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Mom asked then, turning from Dad at the sound of Whitney almost tripping. Then there was the sound of Lucas getting hit in the chest, as well as his very audible intake of breath.

"Now, I am."

"Stop hitting me so much. My God."

"Let me guess," Dad said then. "They're staying the night too?"

"Who's staying the night?" Whitney asked, her tone giving off her distaste at the idea.

"Owen, as it stands right now," Dad told her. "And you guys too then?"

"I don't-"

"If they want," Mom said. "You guys can stay in your old bedroom, Whitney."

"N-"

"That'd be cool," Lucas spoke over his girlfriend as Owen sat back down on the couch next t me, using the basic darkness to rub my thigh once more. "Then I don't have to drive."

"Lucas would be uncomfortable here though," Whitney said then. "Wouldn't you, Luke?"

"No. Why would I be?"

"Why wouldn't you be?" Dad mumbled under his breath.

"Drew."

Uncle Dan laughed then, rather loudly. At first, I assumed that he was amused by my father's discomfort. Then I realized that he was just happy about the book that he found.

"This is the one, Andy," he told his brother, pulling the book out. "And all the better that they're all staying the night then, now that I've found this."

"What did you find?" Whitney asked, still leaning over as she rubbed her injured shin.

"A book of ghost stories. Your daddy and I were going to just tease your sister with it, but since you're all staying-"

"I don't like ghost stories," I told them then.

"Think that was the point, Bell," Owen told me.

So that's how we ended up listening to some stupid book about stupid monsters and ghosts and things. And okay, it's not like I'm honestly afraid of things like that or anything, but the idea of trying to scare yourself is something that I consider extremely stupid and childish. Still, Lucas and Whitney joined Owen and I on the couch, my sister once again finding her place in her boyfriend's lap. I spent most of the time focusing on messing with Owen's fingers, randomly popping one or pushing it as far back as I could.

Dad was seated in his chair, reading the stupid stories while the only one really listening was his brother, who was taking Mom's absence as a chance to smoke in the house, walking around the living room while staring out the glass, watching the storm outside. He and Dad were the only ones that were enjoying themselves, I think. Even Lucas seemed bored, spending his time banging out a beat with his thumbs on Whitney's thighs, who was using his phone still.

The power didn't come back on that night. I did get a text from Clarke though, telling me that school was for sure out, as she still had power at her house and had seen our school come up on the closed lists on the news. With that happy thought, I spent even more time listening to stupid ghost stories. Eventually, Dad got tired of reading and sent us all off to bed. His warning to Owen and I was that, should he hear my bedroom door open or someone coming up or down the stairs during the night, we would both be in some big trouble. Lucas had a good laugh at the threat as he and Whitney headed up the stairs to her bedroom for the night. I think it was just then that Dad realized in his worry over me, he completely forgot that Whitney and Lucas would be sharing a room. I decided not to break it to him that the two of them basically lived together for the most part, just bouncing back and forth between one another's apartments.

So after getting Owen some blankets and pillows, I headed up to my bedroom alone, honestly having no desire to break my father's rules that night. I honestly just wanted to go to sleep, not having to worry about the thought of doing anything in the morning, as since it was Wednesday, I had no radio show and if the power stayed out long enough, I'd also have no school.

So there I was, still sleeping peacefully, when my phone buzzing woke me up. I had left it on my bedside table and, as it vibrated, it knocked into some pens and pencil I had up there, causing quite the commotion in the otherwise silent house. Groaning, I moved to grab my phone, not shocked to find it to be a text.

_I'm bored._

Rolling my eyes, I shifted on my bed before sending Owen a reply back.

_I was sleeping._

_Now you're not._

_Cause of u_

_I'm sorry. I can't hear illiterate texts._

_You can't hear texts to begin with, genius._

_At least I can spell genious._

_I spelled it right, dummy. You spelled it wrong. _

_No._

So that's how I spent a good hour, texting back and forth with Owen. Then he had to go and ruin it by asking for nudes and that was pretty much it for the night.

Yep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning to no sunlight. The sky was just as dark and brooding as it was the night before and most of the days previous. The one good thing about this however was that there would be no chance for ice or snow to melt, giving me a good chance of getting out of school the next day as well.

No one else seemed to be up when I first left my bedroom. When I made it downstairs, I could still hear Owen snoring from the couch and decided not to even bother going in there, as with my luck, my dad would catch us and start accusing. I didn't even feel like dealing with that.

So I headed to the kitchen to find something that required no electricity to eat. So I settled on that pie from the night before. Some times you just gotta treat yourself.

Mom got up not soon after that. She was dismayed about not being able to have any coffee and just sat at the table, using the limited light and a candle to read one of her romance novels. As I was headed back up the stairs though, the power suddenly came back on, made obvious by the lights turning back on that had never been switched off. Mom was excited by this and told me that we had better make breakfast before it went out again. She wasn't a trusting person, my mother.

So she sent me upstairs to wake my sister, as she wanted her help in making breakfast. I didn't think much of this until I got up to my sister's bedroom door and remembered that she wasn't alone in there. I knocked first, figuring that would be the best way to go.

"What?" I heard my sister call out sleepily.

"Mom wants you to-"

"What? I can't freaking hear you."

Rolling my eyes, I opened the door. Whitney and Lucas were both still n bed, him sleeping shirtless, while she was wearing his shirt from the night before and a pair of boy shorts. I made sure not to focus on him for long, as I didn't really want another lecture on what was hers and what wasn't mine.

"Power's back on," I told her then. "Mom wants you to come help make breakfast. She said to hurry, before the power goes back out."

While my sister changed clothes before going downstairs to help our mother, I went ahead and took the first shower of the day, knowing it would be a mad dash once everyone had woken up. I kept it short though, not wanting to use all the hot water or something.

When I got out, Owen was already up, helping my mother and sister in the kitchen. Turns out, he was good at something. Making pancakes. Who knew?

"Good thing we're using these eggs today," Whitney was saying as I came into the kitchen, focusing mostly on my boyfriend over at the stove, impressing my mother with his superior pan flipping skills. He could literally flip the pancakes in the air. The stupid show off. "They were going to go bad in two days."

"Think they're still good?" Mom asked her as she made herself a cup of coffee. "Considering the power went out, the fridge would be-"

"But no one opened it after the power went out," Whitney pointed out. "The cold would have stayed in, right?"

"You float it in water," Owen said then. "To tell if an egg is spoiled or not."

He got a look from Whitney, but he didn't notice as he continued his pancake voyage. It was then that Lucas came down the stairs, in his jeans and crumpled t-shirt from the day before that Whitney had borrowed for bed.

"You made my shirt smell all chickish," he complained to her as he came into the kitchen.

"If you hadn't wanted to stay the night, that wouldn't have been a problem."

"If you hadn't have dragged me to a family dinner, I wouldn't have had to make the desperate choice to save my poor impala from certain death."

"Oh, grow up."

"I'm well on my way to my thirties, babe. How are the early twenties treating you?"

"Make the eggs," Whitney told him then, going to hand him the carton. "Scrambled. Now."

"I'm the guest."

"I don't really care."

He sounded annoyed, but he gave her a kiss when she passed before going to do as asked. Somehow Mom and Whitney had both gotten out of cooking anything at all. Huh.

That's how Dad and Uncle Dan found us later. Owen was done with making pancakes and had moved on to bacon while Lucas was done with his scrambled eggs.

"The hell did this happen?" my uncle asked, frowning when he saw the guys making the food.

"You'll actually have to wash the dishes for once, Whitney," Dad told her, patting her head as he passed before going to grab a plate to get some pancakes.

"For some reason I doubt that," Lucas mumbled.

"Me too," Whitney agreed.

After breakfast and cleaning up, Owen called his mother to tell her where he was before telling me he had to head home soon. The only problem was that the driveway needed to be shoveled and there was no way Dad was going to do it; not when he had two of his daughters and two young guys in his house.

"You know, you could try helping, Whitney," Lucas complained not soon after we went out there. She was sitting in his impala, burning gas mostly, the heat blasting as she listened to the radio.

"There's only three shovels. Besides, I'm warming your car up," she told him before rolling the window back up.

"I'm glad you're not like that," Owen told me. I had taken up to helping him and Lucas out, as I kind of felt bad for them. I knew they were both only shoveling the snow as a way of appeasing my father, who had asked them to do it.

"Of course not, Bear," I said and we both smiled at each other while Lucas was still yelling some things at Whitney, who had resorted to turning the music up louder. I was reminded then of how Lucas told me the way he and Whitney flirted was completely different than how Owen and I did. That was never more obvious than at that moment.

I didn't want to admit it, but I really didn't want them all to leave. Owen for obvious reasons, but my sister and her boyfriend either. It was kind of like it used to be, with them staying the night. How when I was a kid Kirsten and Whitney would both be around constantly (Whitney more so than my share-the-love oldest sister) instead of how it was now, where I was the only one home with both my parents usually stuck in a cold war. It was fun, having people over, and that never happened anymore. I guess I wouldn't have long to feel that way anyways, as soon I'd be out of the house as well.

"You're a hateful little bitch, you know that? A fucking little bitch."

Lucas was still complaining to my sister, who had taken to flipping him off while blasting annoying pop music. Or, well, it was annoying to Owen, I was sure. I was kind of digging it, honestly.

Still, I blinked slightly at him calling her a bitch, but Whitney didn't seem to mind it, now flipping him off with both hands. He told me that they got along best when they were bickering, but they seemed to really be fighting.

"At what stage in our relationship do I get away with calling you names like that?" Owen asked me.

"Try never," I said, making a face at Lucas as Whitney finally got out of the car, turning it off first.

"You want me to freaking shovel the damn driveway? Fine. Give me the stupid shovel. Asswipe."

"Oh, go fuck yourself then. Wouldn't want to break your dainty little- Hey!"

She hit him in the arm before, looking rather disheveled as the wind blew her blonde hair every which way. She had found time, however, to plan her outfit out of some old clothes in her closet, coordinating her heavy coat and snow boots pretty well. The last thing she looked ready to do was actually shove a driveway. Perhaps stage shoveling one, for a calendar spread or something. Because no matter how far she came, that's all my sister would ever look like to me. A model.

"Give me the shovel."

"Fuck off." He shoved her that time, though it wasn't hard. It still annoyed her though, as she moved to hit him again. Lucas grabbed her fist before the hit landed though, throwing her away from him. She lost her balance and fell back on her butt.

"Ow, Lucas!"

"You're such a baby." He dropped his shovel before moving to help her back up. "Go back inside then."

"You wanted me to shovel the driveway."

"I want to get done shoveling the driveway so I can go the fuck home. That's what I want. So go inside and let me finish."

"You hurt me."

"I did not."

Still, he kissed her cheek then, his tone much softer than it had been previously.

"It's too cold for you," he told her simply. "Go back inside so I can finish, huh?"

"Why can't you do my work for me like he is her?" I asked Owen then, frowning as I struggled to keep up.

"I will as soon as I can call you a whore and cunt before shoving you to the ground in a fit of rage."

I just sighed before continuing on. "Point taken."

* * *

"Your sister called."

"Already?"

"Not Whitney. Kirsten."

I glanced at my father, who was at the table next to my mother.

"Oh," I said slowly. "What did she-"

"You are not to get involved in your sister's relationship, Annabel," Mom told me.

"I was giving advice."

"She told me that you told her that your father was only paying for one wedding and that she was in too far already for it to not be this one."

I nodded. "That's true though so-"

"Annabel-"

"Grace, I told her to tell Kirsten all that," Dad said as I went over to the fridge to get a soda, my main goal in coming into the kitchen to begin with.

"Oh, I know," my mother told him with a shake of her head. "I'm not stupid, Drew."

"Then what-"

"Kirsten is either going to marry Brian or she's not going to. But it's none of our business what that decision is." Mom looked at Dad then. "And honestly, Andrew, would you really want her in an unhappy marriage just because of the money we've already spent?"

"The way the economy's going?"

"Drew-"

"Grace, I don't play into drama, alright? We all know that there's no stopping her when it comes to marrying this guy, so I just don't-"

"If there's no stopping her, then why are you so insistent on getting involved?"

"Booking this venue was a lot, Grace."

She let out a long breath. "I just don't like you pitting the children against each other."

"Annabel wants her sister to get married. She wants to go to the wedding. Don't you, Annabel?" Dad looked at me finally. "Huh?"

"Well…Owen and I really wanna go to New York…"

"See?" Dad shook his head at my mother. "Annabel wants to go to New York with her…boyfriend…that I have totally agreed too…well shit."

"Drew!"

Sighing, he said then, "Is Owen's mother even letting him go, Annabel?"

"She said yes. And Owen said that he'll pay you back for the ticket or whatever and the hotel room when he can."

"Won't be holding my breath on that one."

"Dad-"

"And who ever said I was paying for his hotel room?"

"I think the only other option is him sharing a room with your daughter, Drew," Mom told him. That got him to look at her.

"Annabel's sharing a room with Whitney."

"Whitney is taking her boyfriend along and they're booking their own room."

"I did not approve that."

"I think she's at the age that your approval is just a nice thing to have; ultimately it doesn't matter."

"Grace-"

"I'm only telling you what you refuse to accept. Your daughters are having sex now. And one of them has been for a very long time."

"You-"

"It's funny, Drew, because that twenty something you were fucking last summer? I bet her father wasn't too happy with it either."

And that was my cue to leave. I quickly left the room, wanting very little to do with any of that.

I ran into my uncle upstairs, as he was coming out of Kirsten's room.

"I wouldn't go down there," I warned him as I headed to my own bedroom.

"And why's that?"

"They're fighting. Again."

"Then I should go downstairs. Save your daddy from getting yelled at by that woman."

"How are you going to do that?"

"The second she sees me, Grace'll find something wrong with what I'm doing and lay into me instead of your daddy. Trust me. Been doing this for a long time."

"You're rusty," I reminded him. "Four years is a long time.

"You keep bringing up those four years. You upset with me then?"

"No," I told him as he changed his path, following me into my bedroom then. "I'm not."

"Seems like it."

"Why would I be? You're not my father or something. I don't have to see you all the time."

"You miss me then?"

"Well, duh. Of course I did." I sat down on my bed then, watching as he walked around my bedroom, as if inspecting it. "Did you not miss me?"

"Of course I missed you," he told me. "I was out of the country for most of it though. Then had to take care of some business in the states. You know my life."

"Not very well, no." I knew the highlights though. Women, women, liquor, and women. "I know that you were in France."

"Just for a little while. I thought where you lived was full of fags."

"I really don't think you can say stuff like that anymore."

"And why not?"

"It's really homophobic and-"

He snorted rather loudly then. Almost as if he was really trying to clear his throat.

"Told your daddy, raising y'all up here would turn you to shit. Then again, this whole country is shit now. This whole planet, really."

I rolled my eyes, figuring I'd let him go on his rant for awhile as he usually was in a better mood after getting everything off his chest. He didn't say anything after that though as he came to a stop at a photo had sitting on my dresser.

"Who's this little girl?" he asked me as he picked up the photo. I didn't even have to see it to know who he was talking about.

"Mallory. Owen's little sister."

"Your daddy said she was sick."

"Very sick.

"You know her?"

"Very well," I told him. "She really wanted to be a model. She thought that it was cool or whatever that I used to do that."

He made this slight laugh then in the back of his throat.

"She ain't got much longer, does she?"

"They don't…I don't…" I blinked then before looking of. "They really don't know, but they don't think so, no."

"That's sad," he told me, his tone flat. I knew that to mean that he was actually pretty emotional. "Your boyfriend's a nice guy."

"Yeah. He is. He loves his sister."

"The world don't make sense sometimes," he told me before setting the photo down and heading out of the room. "It just don't make sense."


	3. Chapter 3

Hot and Cold

Chapter 3

"You sure do sleep enough."

I hardly moved from my lounging spot on the couch. "I'm not sleeping."

"You're not doing anything else either, so you might as well be."

Yawning slightly, I lifted my head slightly to watch my uncle come into the room. "I want to sleep,, but I'm waiting for someone to come over."

"Your boyfriend?"

"No," I sighed as he sat down in my father's normal chair. "His best friend. He's bringing me something."

"What?"

"Something from Owen."

"What though?"

"I don't know. He bought me a gift or something and can't bring it over because he's with his sister. Rolly's going to give it to me though. It's candy or something, I'm sure."

"What'd he buy you it for?"

I glanced up at my uncle. "It's Valentine's Day and he didn't get me anything."

"What?"

I nodded slightly before laying my head back down. "Every girl at school got, like, flowers or whatever. A stuffed bear and all this junk, but Owen didn't go today, so I got nothing. Apparently, he feels bad."

"That's stupid."

"That's not stupid," I complained as he turned on the television. "This was my last Valentine's Day of high school. The last time I got to rub it in the other girls' faces that my boyfriend was better than theirs. And he screwed it up."

"You do hear how ridiculous you sound, right?"

I just groaned. "You just don't get it."

"Maybe not," he agreed. "But I think that's because it's too stupid to understand."

"Even if it's stupid, he knew that this meant a lot to me."

'You sound spoiled."

"I don't care."

"Figured you didn't."

"He should have told me from the start that he wasn't getting me anything."

"Where's your daddy today anyways? Shouldn't he be home by now?"

"I guess he's stuck at work," I said, unconcerned. "Did Mom tell you what was for dinner?"

"All your mother told me today was that she hated me and hoped that I went far, far away."

"She said that?"

"Well, not in those words," he told me. "She actually told me to die and rot in hell."

"Ouch."

"I don't plan on leaving any time soon though."

I frowned at that. "So you'll be here for more than, like, a month?"

"I would think so."

"More than two?"

"Well, there is no way that a person can plan that far ahead."

Actually, there was. I just didn't feel like pointing that out to him.

So I sat there for awhile, awaiting Rolly's arrival. It wasn't like I was expecting him to be on time or something. I mean, I know that he never is. But still. It was kind of hard to sleep when you're waiting for someone to show up.

He did show eventually though, about an hour after he said he would. He came bearing chocolate and flowers though from Owen, so I really couldn't be too mad at him for long.

"These are nice," I said, taking the flowers from him the second I opened the door. I only let him in after taking a good whiff of them. "Owen sends his regards then? The jerk."

"He said he was sorry."

"He didn't even get me a stuffed animal."

"He was busy, Annabel. With Mallory."

I rolled my eyes, though I did feel kind of like a bitch. But still. Had I been with any other guy in the world, I would have gotten a big stuff teddy or a dozen roses or a bunch of chocolate all in front of my classmates so that they could be extremely jealous. Wasn't that the point of this holiday?

"Well," I said as Rolly followed me into the house with my candy. "He's not getting his gift until he comes over here."

"He told me to tell you that he'd stop by after work." Rolly paused. "What'd you buy him anyhow?"

"I don't really see how that's any of your business."

"I did bring you this stuff."

"You were late. And you only did it because Owen and I are so nice to you."

"In what world are the two of you nice to me?"

"Uh, try this world." I took him into the living room, where I immediately introduced him to my uncle. "This is Rolly. Rolly, this is Uncle Dan."

"Howdy," Rolly greeted, no doubt taking in the fact that my uncle was wearing his cowboy hat that day. My uncle was not amused. "I'm Owen's best friend ever. And Annabel's."

My uncle just stared at him, not blinking for a moment before shaking his head. "Alrighty then."

Grinning, Rolly turned back to me. "So are you going to tell me what you got Owen then?"

"No," I said as I smelt my flowers once again.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll tell him about it," I said as I headed out off the living room then, in search of a vase my flowers.

"Is it that great?"

"It's that great."

"If it's that great-"

"Which it is."

"-then why did you get him something on this stupid holiday?"

"Because I love him and I want him to be happy. Why the heck would I not get him something great?"

"I don't know," Rolly said with a shrug. "It just seems like a, you know, girl holiday or whatever."

"I wouldn't have gotten him this if I knew that he was going to be such a jerk and not get me anything," I admitted to him then. "I mean, honestly."

"He told me that he's going to take you out to dinner on-"

"Yeah, not the same. At all."

"Annabel-"

"If I was with another guy, he'd have gotten me something great."

"Well, you're not with another guy. You're with Owen, whose sister is sort of dying right now. You suddenly forget that or something?" Rolly dropped my chocolates on the kitchen counter before shaking his head at me. "'cause right now, you sound like the real jerk."

"Rolly-"

"He was my friend before you, Annabel. You get that right? Not to mention, he loves the hell out of you. He gives up time with his dying sister to be with you. You get that right? So he didn't get you something on Valentine's Day. Cry me a river. You're acting like a spoiled, little brat."

I didn't even take a moment to get embarrassed by him treating me this way. Instead I just responded by getting angry right back to him.

"You could have been Owen's friend since the beginning off time. It doesn't matter. I'm his girlfriend. Therefore, I trump you. So screw off, Rolly. Coming in here acting all high and mighty when you piss him off way more than me. Not to mention, don't you have a girlfriend to fuck around on or something? So just get out of my face, alright? Douche."

"Whore."

I wasn't really sure of the relevance of that suggestion, considering unlike him my first was my only, but I didn't get time to question it as he took off not a moment later. So I was left standing there, now questioning my own actions before deciding that Rolly was just a jerk and I was stupid for not seeing it before.

I mean, honestly.

* * *

"-and he's such a stupid dick and I hate him."

"I'm sorry."

"I mean, really, why do you even like him? He's a horrible person and I don't want to be friends with him anymore. You can or whatever, that's your call, but-"

"Bell, can I come in?" Owen was still standing outside, rubbing his arms slightly. I had answered the door and immediately unloaded on him. Because yeah, ultimately he's my only friend. So what? "It's cold. And Rolly already called and told me that-"

"He is not a better friend to you than I am."

"Did I say that?" He just stared at me. "Now can I come in? Please?"

"Of course, Bear," I mumbled, taking a step back then to allow him inside. "I'm just…upset. Your friend-"

"Bell, give me a minute, huh?"

I crossed my arms as he slowly took off his boots and jacket. "Well, how was work?"

"It was work," he told me. "And Rolly kept texting me about you and how you didn't appreciate me and that if I just broke up with you, him and I could go pick up way better chicks."

"I think he's gay for you."

"Annabel-"

I huffed slightly then. "He's a jerk and I hate him. I-"

"So are you not mad at me anymore then, huh? Because then I should thank him." Owen came closer to me once he was done with what he was doing, moving to cup my cheeks and kiss my nose. His hands were freezing though and I immediately moved to grasp them and cup them in my own.

"Why aren't you wearing gloves or something?" I asked, distracted for a moment. 'Bear, you're going to freeze. My God. You-"

"I lost them. My gloves."

"Then I'll buy you some new ones."

"Bella-"

"You can't go without them. It's too cold. Sheesh. You're like twelve or something, thinking you can just-"

He laughed then, slightly, causing me to look up at him. When I did, he kissed my lips that time.

"I drove the whole way here worrying that you were angry with me," he told me with a smile. "And I get here and you're concerned about how cold I am."

"I was upset with you," I told him softly as I looked back down, breathing into my cupped hands in a vain attempt to warm his. "Then I found someone else to be upset with."

"Rolly was just being a good friend."

"I'm your girlfriend."

"I know."

"He can't tell me what I can and can't say about you."

"You're right."

"So he needs to step off. I mean, God."

"Okay."

"Stop just agreeing with me, Owen." I stared up at him then. "The flowers were nice, but I don't-"

"I was gonna give you something else when we actually go out on Saturday."

"Yeah, but-"

"And Rolly mentioned, between his rants, that you bought me a gift?"

"I did," I agreed.

"Can I see it or-"

"Did you eat dinner?"

"No."

"Mom and Dad went out and Uncle Danny took off, so I made myself a frozen pizza." I interlaced one of her hands then, leading him further into the house. "I didn't finish it. You can come have some of it."

"I really want to see my gift."

"You will," I told him as we made it to the kitchen. "It's on table. You sit and eat. Get a drink if you'd like. And I'll go get your present, okay?"

"'kay." He kissed me then when we let one another go. "Love you."

"I love you too."

Then we did that giggly thing where we were both so happy and content and stuff that I knew we'd be fighting before he left. That's the way most our days went. If we were in a really, really good place with one another, we'd usually be right back out of it the next day.

"Okay, so the amp is in the closet and the-"

"You got me a guitar?" Owen was seated at the kitchen table when I came back, just popping the tab on his coke. "Annabel-"

"How are you going to become a rich rock star if you don't learn at least one instrument? And it was this or a bass and I didn't know if-"

"How much did you pay for it?"

"Does it matter?"

"Bella-"

"Now you just have to get lessons or whatever," I told him, grinning then as he stood to come take the electric guitar out of my hands. "I hope it's okay. I've never had to buy a guitar before, you know?"

"It's fine." He kissed me quickly before moving to take it from me. "I don't even have any idea how to, like, play it."

"That's how come you have to learn, Bear. And now you'll have something to do when you're stuck all alone at your house over there."

"That's going to be tough, you know? Spend time with you or learn guitar."

"I'm sure you'll manage."

"Hope so," he mumbled before grinning at me. "I don't think I've been this happy in a long time, Bell."

"I love you," I told him as I saw lights flash outside. Crap. Mom and Dad were back. "You know that. I'm just happy that I could make you happy."

That was as happy as either of us got though as not two minutes later, we were joined by my parents. My mother came bearing her leftover dessert, which she gave to Owen and I, while my father just headed on up to bed, as he had work in the morning. Not before warning Owen that he was to eat his dessert and then leave. Right. Because there's nothing I wanted to do more than fool around with Owen while they were around. Okay.

Needless to say, Owen was very happy when I sent him on his way. I wasn't though I said nothing. Something about what Rolly had said made me reflect a little on my attitude about the whole thing. I still think Owen should have at least gotten me a stuffed animal though. Something.

* * *

"I think you need a job."

"I think _you_ need a job."

"Excuse me?"

I immediately moved closer to my father, who frowned down at me before looking over at his brother. I was in the living room, watching TV with my dad, finding that a good use of my time after school. Owen was with his sister and I hate Rolly now, so I really had no other options.

"Why does she need a job, Dan?" Dad was leaning pretty far down in the center of the couch, enough so that he could kick his feet up and rest them on the coffee table. I had been sitting next to him, listening to some boring documentary while explaining to him during the commercials about how much I hated Rolly. He was being a pretty good sport, though that might have been because he was sipping on a beer the whole time.

"Why the hell doesn't she?"

"She's a baby," Dad said simply. "Babies don't work. And besides, I don't want her working. I like having her home when I need her to be."

"That's how you treated the other two and look how they turned out."

"Why do you suddenly care what my daughters do?" Dad took another sip of beer before shaking his head. "Not to mention, Dan, you're not so hot in the job department either."

"I worked when I was a boy."

"So did I. I worked my whole life so that my kids didn't have to." Dad elbowed me gently. "Working builds character, fine. Maybe Whitney and Kirsten needed that. Okay. But this one has enough character. Don't you, Annabel?"

I stared blankly at my uncle. "Why don you care if I have a job or not? I mean, you don't even have one."

He frowned at me. "You-"

"Now, now, Annabel. Your uncle is an adult," Dad reminded me. "Talk to him with respect."

"Dad-"

"Like telling him to get the fuck out and stop riding your back over stupid shit." Dad laughed then before downing more of his beer. I was pretty sure that he had had a few before I got home from school as well. "Leave my kid alone, Dan. You're just mad because Grace told you off."

"Last time I checked, she told you off too, boy."

I frowned, glancing up at my father then. "What happened?"

"Your mother," Dad said with disdain. "Before you got home, started yelling and whatever. At me! Last time I checked, I'm the only one that works in this damn house. I built this damn house! I can choose if I want my brother to stay in this damn house if I want him to stay in this damn house. This is my damn house, not hers. She-"

"Look at what you did now. Got your daddy all worked up."

I made a face at my uncle, but it was my father who spoke to him.

"You're the reason that she left, Dan, so don't tell my daughter what she's done and what she hasn't."

"All I said to Grace was that for someone who doesn't work and just sits around all day, she sure is ungrateful."

"The hell do you get off anyways? Talking to my wife?" Dad took another sip of beer. "Why are you suddenly so concerned with me anyhow? This is my life and you haven't been a part of it in years."

"You said that you didn't want me around as much, Andy. You said-"

"You've never liked Grace. Never." Dad drank some more. "You and Mom always thought that I would grow out of her, but I haven't. You guys-"

"Mom's dead, Andrew," his brother told him bluntly. "So why don't you stop talking about her?"

"Screw you." When Dad tried to take another sip of his beer, he was dismayed to find it empty. "Annabel, go get me another can, huh?

"I don't-"

"Please?" He looked at me then, giving me his best sad eyes. "Please? My little baby. My little angel. Annabel. You-"

"Hold on," I sighed, moving to stand. "Let me go get one, okay?"

"You shouldn't be enabling your daddy, girl."

"He's not my 'daddy'," I told my uncle. "He's my dad and he wants something."

I went to get my father his beer, though after I did I immediately headed up stairs, leaving my uncle and father behind. I really didn't want to be around the two of them at the moment. I went ahead and sent a text to my mother when I made it to my bedroom, wanting to know where she was at. Even though I hadn't cared that much before, now knowing that her and my father had gotten into some kind of big blowout before I got home from school concerned me.

While I was waiting for her to text me back, I went ahead and finished up what little homework I had. I was about done with my English work when I got a call, though it wasn't from my mother.

"Okay, Annabel," Kirsten answered not soon after I said hello. "Since no one else is going to answer their phone today, I'm just going to have to tell you."

"Tell me what?" I asked, frowning as I shifted on my bed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just coming down to see you guys."

"To see us?"

"Yes. Before I have the baby and everything."

"And everything," I repeated softly. "When are you coming? Because Uncle Dan is here and-"

"Ugh. I know. Mom called and told me." I could almost hear her shake her head. "He'll just have to get the hell out of my room."

"What are you going to be doing here anyways?" I asked her. "Other than just visiting? Was there a reason you-"

"I need to go over some wedding stuff with Mom and Dad," she told me. "Not to mention I need to come meet this boyfriend of Whitney's that I've heard so much about."

"Lucas is really great," I said then, not realizing for a moment that I was gushing. "He's really-"

"Yeah, she told me that you want to sleep with him."

That made me stop. I mean, seriously.

"I do not," I finally said, frowning deeply. "I just…he's nice. And we're friends."

"Right. Sure."

"We are!"

"She told me that you were all over him at-"

"He gave me his jacket. That's all. God. Whitney's such a-"

"Why were you with him anywyas?"

"I wasn't," I insisted. "I was just outside, alone, when he came out there to talk to me."

"Oh, so the two of you are talking now?"

"Not like that, Kirsten. God."

"God me? God you. You're the one messing with Whitney's boyfriend. Man, he must be hot though, to have you this bothered that you're messing around on Owen. Because when you were in New York, it didn't matter what the guy looked like. You were so centered in on your boyfriend. How hot must this Lucas be for you to-"

"I do _not_ like Lucas!"

"Calm down. My God. I was just teasing. You're over here getting worked up. You don't really like him, do you?"

"No," I told her flatly. "I do not."

"It's alright if you do. Besides, by the time I get to town, Whitney won't care about what you want to do with him."

I paused. "What do you mean?"

"Whitney's been being a little bitch to me ever since she got with this guy and even more so since she told everyone about him. So you know what?"

"What?"

"I'm going down there to attract her boyfriend and make her upset."

I made a face. "Aren't you getting married? Or is that off? Because Owen and I still want to go to New York so-"

"I'm not going to cheat on Brian with her stupid boyfriend. I'm just going to prove a point. And besides, Brian isn't coming down with me. I'll just be there alone. And be honest? Who's hotter? Me or Whitney?"

"…Owen told me that I'm the hottest, so-"

"Oh, Annabel."

"He thinks that Whitney's hotter than you though if that helps the conversation along."

"Oh, bull. Your boyfriend is the antithesis of hotness and intelligence anyways. What does he know?"

"Uh, try a lot."

"What? How to ring a doorbell and handover a pizza?"

"Rude."

"How is telling the truth rude?"

"Why did you call me again, Kirsten?" I finally asked. 'Because right now, I don't-"

"Just tell Mom to pick me up at the airport Friday at four. Alright?"

"Alright," I said with a sigh. "How long are you staying?"

"Till Tuesday. Just make sure Mom knows, alright? And make sure Whitney's at the house with her boyfriend on Friday."

"Kirsten-"

"Gotta go. Bye."

After hanging up, I tossed my phone to the bed before groaning. If there was anything worse than my uncle and mother fighting, it was Whitney and Kirsten fighting. For it to be my senior year, everyone else's drama sure seems to be overshadowing mine.

* * *

"So it just, like, always hurts?"

"Not always," Owen told me. "I just have to build up calluses on my fingers first."

"That sounds like a lot of work, Bear."

"Yeah, well, learning guitar is a lot of work."

I smiled at him as he pulled his English novel from his locker. "I'm glad you're at school today."

"Me too. And you know that tonight after school we have that date."

"Ooh, I thought I told you? Kirsten's coming in and-"

"Bella," Owen complained, glancing at her then. "I was going to make you dinner. I planned it and everything. Since I couldn't give you a real Valentine's Day?"

"I know, Bear, but my sister-"

"So what then? You gave me all that shit about not doing anything so I planned-"

"Kirsten's coming in this afternoon," I told him. "After we pick her up, I'll go home, get ready for our date. Okay?"

"You're not going to have to, like, go eat dinner with your family or-"

"I'll tell them no. I've gone to enough stupid family dinner's recently." I shook my head at him. "Besides, Mom and Dad are fighting. Like, really fighting. Fighting more than they were before."

He glanced at me as he closed his locker. "I'm sorry."

I just shook my head. "I don't… My point was that we'll still have dinner tonight. Okay?"

"'kay," he agreed, holding out his hand and waiting for me to interlace our fingers. "I have a pretty good gift for you too."

"Really now?"

"Yep."

"And I'll for sure like it?"

"I would think so, yeah. You've asked for it."

"Really?"

"Mmmhmm."

I quickly did a run through of all the jewelry or clothing that I had asked for in the past few months. I came up with nothing.

"Can you give me a hint?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"Bear-"

"It's a surprise, Bella."

"Can you at least give me a hint?"

"Did you give me a hint about the guitar?"

"Oh? So your present is on par with the guitar?"

"I would like to think so, yeah," he said with a nod of his head. "And if you don't like it, then that'll be fine. I just really, really think you will."

"Now I'm going to spend the whole day thinking about it."

"Good. You should."

"It better be great, Owen."

"It will be. I promise you."

I didn't get to see Owen again until lunch, but before then, I did get some actual human contact that wasn't forced by a group assignment. Instead, it was forced by a teacher not showing up and a sub not being readily available.

When my teacher announced that the class across the hall would be joining our class, of course everyone was excited. As the class across the hall was a math class while we were in history, we knew that we wouldn't be doing any work that day. So I planned to just spend the next forty-five minutes texting Owen…until someone sat down next to me.

"Well, Annabel, guess this is our lucky day, huh?"

I frowned when I heard James' voice, turning almost immediately to glance at him.

"Hey," I said slowly, staring at him for a moment.

I had been blowing him off since, oh, November or so. I'd text him randomly if he initiated it, but I had avoided him intentionally and never responded when he wanted to hangout. This was due in part, of course, to Owen's insistence that I not have anything to do with him, but also because of the whole Kyle thing. Kyle was his best friend and I'm sure in his mind, I had used him to get Owen back that time we were fighting. In accordance to guy code, James should really have nothing to do with me. Then again, I was pretty sure from the beginning that James more or less was the one that really wanted me and didn't care one way or another about Kyle's feelings.

He grinned at me real big then. "It only took my teacher having a car accident for us to hangout again. Imagine that."

I gasped slightly. "Ms. Harold was in a car wreck?"

"Nah. I dunno. Maybe. Just wishful thinking, you know?"

Blinking, I looked back down at my desk for a moment. "So anyways…why is it our lucky day exactly?"

"Because I just so happen to need help with my math work and you just so happen to be the person to help me with it."

I gave him a look then. "The semester just started and you're already behind?"

"It's senior year, okay? I've been having some…difficulties in concentrating."

"Like spending too much time getting high?"

"Ha. You can never spend too much time getting high." He literally patted me on the head then. "So anyways, you gonna help me or what?"

I wasn't too sure when I saw Owen later at lunch what exactly I should tell him and what I shouldn't. This turned out to be a non-issue as when he showed up at our wall, he had his own problems going on.

"Again?"

"Yes," he answered me, hardly able to keep from shaking slightly. "And it's such bullshit. It's always the same bullshit. I'm tired of bullshit. I-"

"Owen," I said softly as he finally sat down next to me. "Take a breath."

"No, Annabel. I'm not going to. I'm tired of getting sent to the office for dumbasses-"

"Bear," I said then, staring into his eyes. "Take a breath. It's okay."

"It's not okay. It's never okay. Assholes always get coddled and told that they're right and that I'm just a freak and that means that I can just get sent down to the principal's office for nothing. They called my fucking mom, Bella. Fucking hell."

I finally sat my lunch down on the wall before shifting closer to him. Taking his face in my hands, I made him stare at me.

"Calm down," I repeated, more as an order than suggestion at that point. "Take a breath. It's okay, Bear. You didn't get suspended. Just a detention. And you-"

"It's bullshit. I'm not going to detention. I'm fucking eighteen and you're going to tell me I have to stay after school for calling some asshole out on his bullshit? That's bullshit. This is all fucking-"

"Stop cursing." I let him go then when it was clear that even I wasn't going to calm him down. "Tell me exactly what happened, Bear."

"This asshole like fucking spilled his drink all over my paper in class. Which wouldn't have been a big deal, had he not done it because he was goofing off. And then he thought it was fucking funny or something. Giggling and laughing with his jerkoff friends. Well you know what? I actually tried to write my fucking essay. And then it's just ruin? Fucking ruined? No, Annabel. So I got angry. And I just…I just…"

"Shhhh, Bear," I sighed, looking off then. He was being rather loud, as he was completely upset by that point, and some people were looking over at us. "It's okay. I get it, alright? Just take a moment to breathe. It'll be okay. You're just wound up today."

"I'm _not_ just wound up today, Annabel. It's bullshit the way they-"

"Alright. I get it."

"You don't get it. You never get it. You just always want me to shut up and just go along with whatever they say. Well guess what? They're assholes! They're all assholes! I'm tired of dealing with fucking assholes!"

There was no reaching him then. It had only happened the period before lunch and he was too far into his anger to be brought back. So I just went back to my lunch, letting him rant randomly until he realized that I wasn't interested in his theatrics. That only pissed him off more, or so he told me when I wouldn't respond to his anger.

"You always just blow everything I say off, Annabel," he accused, turning his anger around on me. He knew that would at least get me to pay him some attention. "You never care about anything that has to do with me. But the second your parents yell at each other or your sisters tell you that they don't like you, I have to hear about that for hours. I have to pretend to give a damn. Well fuck you then, Annabel. Your life isn't that interesting. You have a boring as shit life. You-"

"Owen," I sighed. "You-"

"Don't fucking cut me off, Annabel."

I looked back at him then, making eye contact as I said, "Do you really want to fight right now, Owen Armstrong? Because if you do, we can. If not, I'm going to go ahead and walk away and you can sort out life for yourself. And then when we meet up again later, you can pledge your undying love for me and begin for forgiveness. 'kay?"

I stood up with that, leaving him behind. And Owen didn't call after me or run to catch up with me. He was going to have it out with himself for awhile before that happened. I knew that his anger was fleeting though and that in a few hours, when he'd drive me home, he'd be good as new again and ready to make me that dinner and give me that gift.

Or at least I hoped.

* * *

"Hey, Bell, look, can we-"

"Whitney keeps posting these damn pictures of her and Lucas up online," I cut him off, staring down at my cell while waiting him to unlock the Land Cruiser. As he had dropped trig, I no longer had any classes with him after lunch. "I mean, I normally don't look at her stuff, but he tried to follow me on something and I don't know if I'm allowed to follow him back or if she's going to bitch me out again if I do."

Owen just stared at me for a moment, out in that school parking lot, before shaking his head and moving to get into the car. Slowly, he said, "I don't care if you follow him, if that helps any."

"It doesn't," I told him as I got into the Land Cruiser as well, "but it does save us from fighting about it later."

He was quiet again as he started up the car. Then, slowly, he asked, "Are they…nice photos or-"

"I guess. Whitney's been really into selfies recently. Like, really, really into them. More than me. And now that Mom and Dad know about Lucas, she posts photos of him a lot. Him with her, him without her, him sleeping, him posing, him cooking."

"Does he post any photos of her?"

"No more than you're supposed to when you're the boyfriend," I told him after I followed the other guy.

"I don't post photos of you."

"A normal boyfriend, Owen. You're not normal."

"Bella-"

"Don't you ever yell at me like that in front of people again," I said, looking up from my phone finally to stare at him. "You hear me?"

"I-"

"The only reason I let you get away with it is because I know that you're going through hell right now at home. But that not only embarrassed me, Owen, but that reflected poorly on you. People already think that I shouldn't be with you. You think raging at me helped your cause?"

"I don't care what people thinking about me or us or our relationship."

"Well, newsflash, Owen, I'm a teenage girl. I very much so care about what other think of me, you, and our relationship. And as it stands, you looked like an asshole at lunch. And I'm sure you didn't look any better in class."

That upset him slightly and he let it be known. "They were the asses, Annabel. Not me. I didn't do anything wrong."

"God, you really think that, don't you?"

"Yes!"

Rolling my eyes, I said, "We're not going to talk about this anymore, Owen. I let you vent and let you yell at me. Now that's over, you can find someone else to yell at about it. Because for all you don't care about my life apparently, I don't care about yours."

"I didn't say that I don't care about your life."

"You did too."

"I did not."

"You said that my life is boring and you don't like to hear about it."

"Annabel-"

"If you don't want to hear about me, Owen, then that's fine. I don't know why we're together, but that's fine."

"Bell."

"I mean, I listen about your music stuff and sometimes you talk a lot about pointless things and how much you hate them. Like reality TV. I love that. But I listen to you complain about how dumb it is. Why? Because I'm your girlfriend and I have to listen to you sometimes."

"I listen to you al the time, Annabel, without complaint. So one time I went off about-"

"One time? Seriously, Owen? You go off all the time. It's like a weekly affair now."

"So what are you saying, Annabel? Huh?"

"I don't know. I-"

"You know, I try to have a nice day for us and what do you do? Screw it up."

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

"You're the one that got upset today, Owen, not me."

"Yeah, because you don't listen to me and don't take me seriously."

"You hit people when you get angry. Yes, I take you seriously."

I got a look for that.

"I would never hit you, Annabel, and you fucking know it."

"Oh, do I, Owen? Why do I know that?"

"Because I just wouldn't okay? How about all the times you've hit me. Or backhanded me. I've never even raised my fucking hand to you. So knock it off with the bullshit, get over whatever you're upset about, and shut the fuck up. I'm taking you home and then at seven, you're going to come over to my freaking house so I can feed you the freaking food I freaking made for you and give you your gift and, I don't know, maybe we can have sex. But none of that can happen if you don't-"

I looked at him then, cutting off his words. "You're seriously horny right now?"

He looked away from the road to glance at me. "Well, not this second, but I could very easily get horny. I haven't jerked off in, like, fifteen hours."

I quickly did the math. "You were up at midnight, jerking off?"

"Roughly, I guess. I don't… Would you stop changing the subject?"

"Well, sorry. I've just always, you know, wondered."

"Wondered what?"

"How often you masturbate."

He groaned, rather loudly. "I really don't want to talk about this."

"Do you, like, do it everyday or-"

"What are you doing?" He glanced at me again, taking in my blush. "You are so red right now that-"

"I'm just trying to change the subject, okay?"

"To me jacking off?"

"Well, what else would have distracted you?"

"Do you really want to know or-"

"No," I told him with a sigh. "Not at all, really."

"Okay then," he said slowly, still clearly confused. "That's actually for the better, I'd think."

"…Were you watching porn last night or-"

"Well, yeah, I actually was. So-"

"Was it…why didn't you…Never mind."

"No, no," he said, glancing at me. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Nothing, never mind."

And then there was no longer anger or hatred, instead only awkwardness and silence. Which, I suppose was better. Or at least I thought it was better.

* * *

"-going to have dinner tomorrow, since Annabel's going on a date tonight," Mom was saying as she went around the house, looking for her shoes. "Kirsten wants to eat out, which is great, because Whitney refuses to cook for her sister for some reason. Which, by the way, I do not want to get into any time soon."

"No, that's okay," I said from where I was on the couch, waiting on my mom to get ready so we could leave. "I don't need to go to dinner. You guys can all go out tonight. I really-"

"Lucas isn't off tonight or tomorrow night," my mother told me. "So we're really having lunch tomorrow, not dinner. At three. So be free. Is Owen?"

"I don't know. I-"

"Ask him tonight, okay? It'll be fun. We never all go out to lunch."

Dad, who was sitting on the couch next to me, said, "I'm working tomorrow."

"And you know your lunch hour starts at three. Not to mention, Drew, you know as well as I do you can take a long lunch if you want. And right now, you want. Trust me."

He turned the television up louder, grunting slightly.

"Drew, are you ready yet?"

"I'm waiting on you, Grace," he told her gruffly before elbowing me gently. "What are you and that boy doing tonight then?"

"Nothing, really," I told him. "He made me dinner."

"You make someone dinner, then it's something," he told me. "Not to mention, he has to give you…something. Right?"

I glanced at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," my father told me, looking back at the television. "I just assumed-"

"Why did you know that he was giving me something?"

"You told me the other day-"

"What do you know?"

"I don't know anything."

I stared hard at him. "Why would Owen tell you about something he was getting for me?"

"He didn't. I just-"

"Was he asking your permission?"

"Annabel-"

"Oh God, he's not going to ask me to marry him again, is he?"

"He's not…What?"

I looked forwards again. "Nothing. I just figured-"

"When did he ask you to-"

"Mom and Whitney never told-"

"No. Grace!" Dad wasn't playing around anymore. "He asked you that, Annabel? Grace! What the hell have you been keeping from me?"

"What?" Mom came back into the room, her shoes and coat finally on. "Drew?"

"That boy asked Annabel to marry him?"

"Dad, it was months ago," I said. "I really thought you knew. It was when I thought we broke up. That's one of the reasons we broke up. Kind of."

Dad stood then, glaring at Mom. "Why did you never tell me this, Grace?"

"I don't know, Drew. Why didn't you ever tell me about your after work activities?"

He bit his tongue then before grounding out, "I thought that we agreed that if we were going to work on this, that we would stop bringing up the past."

"You agreed, Drew," she told him flatly. Then, looking at me, she said, "Go get in the car, Annabel. It's time to go pick up your sister."

"Grace-"

"She didn't do it, Drew. She's not married to him and he came back to his senses. You don't want to know everything about their lives, do you?"

"Kirsten's? No. But Annabel? The one that lives in my house still? Is the baby still? Yeah, I do."

"Well, great. She starts her period next week and needs a new pack of pads.'

"Mom-"

"Grace-"

"You wanted to know," Mom said simply before turning to walk out of the room. I glanced at my father, but he looked too pissed for words.

"Come on," he finally said, patting me on the shoulder before heading out of the room. "It's time to go get Kirsten."

For some reason, he didn't sound too thrilled.

The car ride was nearly unbearable, but at least Mom and Dad didn't fight. They just both sat in a stony silence, not looking nor speaking to one another. I spent most my time send texts back and forth with Owen though and browsing Lucas' photos online. I had a bad feeling that adding him would only get me in trouble with Whitney, but I wasn't sure why it was so bad that I wanted to be friends with her boyfriend. I thought it was a rather normal thing, sisters at least being friends with their siblings significant others. Or at least that's how it works on the Kardashians…

Needless to say, Dad's mood did not improve when we met up with Kirsten, who immediately gave him the cold shoulder. I'm not even completely sure what the two of them are fighting over anymore. I mean, is it the cheating thing, the baby thing, or the wedding thing? Or is it just everything in general? I mean seriously, who really knows?

Kirsten wouldn't shut up either. I don't know what I was expecting. She had a lot to tell Mom and Dad and I were just innocent casualties. Dad seemed miserable, driving the car, having to hear about pregnancy problems and wedding issues. I felt for him, really. But…Owen was texting me about how great dinner was going to be and I was mostly focused in on that and my gift, so much so that I blocked most of Kirsten's crap out.

"Can I be dropped at Owen's?" I asked when we got back into Lakeview. "Please?"

"If I drop you at that boy's house, I'm going to go in there and talk to him about-"

"Okay, never mind, Dad," I sighed.

"Ask my daughter to fucking marry him," Dad grumbled.

"Drew, watch your language."

"He what?" Kirsten, who was in the backseat with me, turned to stare at me, forgetting her own drama for a minute. "When did this happen?"

"A while ago," I said, blushing before turning to look out the window. "It's not even a big deal. Seriously."

"The hell its not." Dad glanced up at the review mirror to stare at me. "If he ever asks you something like that again-"

"Dad, calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down, Annabel. I don't know what it is with you girls and these stupid guys, but it's getting on my nerves." He shook his head then. "I never wished I had sons more."

"Drew, knock it off." Mom reached forward to turn up the stereo, even though it was some stupid sports show. "No one talk anymore for the rest of the ride."

So we didn't. At all. Kirsten had this really annoyed look on her face though and I knew the second we got to the house, she'd find some way to go off on our father, like she really wanted. I just didn't want to be a part of it.

"I'm going to Owen's," I announced the second we pulled into the driveway. Heading over to my car, I was happy that Whitney didn't have it for once. "I'll be back tonight."

"The hell you are," Dad complained as he got out of the car as well. "You-"

"I'm sorry," I said as I opened my car door. "I can't hear you over the sound of you wishing you had a son. Besides, I'm sure you'll have plenty of fun yelling at Kirsten while I'm gone."

"Annabel-"

"Go, Annabel," Mom cut Dad off as she got out of the car as well. "Have fun. Be back by curfew."

"Okay."

"Grace-"

"Honestly, Drew, what more do you need to say tonight?"

That was the last thing I heard as I got in the car then and immediately took off, not wanting anything to do with their brewing fight.

When I got to Owen's house, there was no one else home. It's not like I was expecting there to be, but I was kind of hoping to see Mallory. I hadn't in a few weeks and felt for some reason like I was neglecting her.

"Hey, Bella," Owen answered the door, looking much happier than he had earlier in the day. "I'd have picked you up, you know, if you wanted."

"You're cooking, Bear."

"Guess so, huh?" He took a step back, letting me in. "It's not too cold today."

"No," I sighed as I slipped my coat off. "It's not."

"What's up?" He asked, taking in the look on my face. "Are you-"

"My dad was just being a dick again. Not that my mom was much better."

"I'm sorry. It sure has been a shitty day, huh?"

"Mmmm." I followed him into the kitchen. "Did you get in trouble with your mom, Bear?"

"Of course not. I'm a fucking man."

"Owen-"

"She hasn't returned my calls," he told me with a slight shrug. "But let's just forget about anything that happened before you walked through the door, huh? I spent all this time making you dinner."

"What did you make?"

"The only thing I can make."

I made a face. "Fish sticks?"

"No, Bella. Spaghetti."

"Oh," I sighed, relieved. No one could mess that up. "Is it ready yet?"

"Yeah."

"Well, can I get my present first or-"

"No."

"Owen-"

"No, you can't. Eat first or else you won't want to eat."

"That good?"

"That great."

"Well," I began as he pulled me out a chair at the kitchen table, as they had no dining room. "I already know that you asked my dad about it first."

He paused then. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Hmmm."

"Yeah. Hmmm."

"So what did he tell you?"

"Not much," I assured Owen before looking up at him. "Oh, and he kind of knows about the, you know, asking me to marry you think."

That got him to stop. "What?"

"I thought he already knew and I was joking and-"

"Well, great, Annabel," he grumbled as he turned away then, returning quickly with drinks. "I finally get on his good side-"

"He has no good side. Not to mention, he hasn't liked you since this summer and he won't ever again probably. He's just gotten used to you."

"Why are you so sour on your father all of a sudden?"

"Because," I began as Owen sat a plate in front of me, spaghetti and meatballs on it. "I'm tired of all the 'I wish I had had a son' crap. Guys sperm is the one that controls that, so it's more or less fault."

"Annabel." Owen gave me a look for that one. "Honestly."

"Well, it's true. Not to mention, if he's so miserable with me and my sisters then he can just leave us all alone. I'm gone at the end of this summer and Whitney and Kirsten want very little to do with him to begin with."

"I'm sure he didn't mean it the way you took it."

"And I'm sure that you don't have any idea what you're talking about."

"Okay, well, never mind then." He came back with his own plate before sitting down. "Did you want to talk about how much you hated him or-"

"No," I told him before grinning at him. "I want to talk about my present."

"Do you?"

"Yes." I grinned at him once more. "Is it…jewelry?"

"No."

"Clothes."

"No."

"Then what, Bear?"

"Those are the only options?"

"Those are the only things you've ever given me except for CDs and that time that you gave me that little rocket ship of Legos. Or, ooh, those goggles. And that letter. Is it another letter?"

"It's not another letter."

"Is it…another stuffed animal? Remember when you gave me those teddy bears?"

"Very well."

"Is it another teddy?"

"It is not."

"Is it another stuffed animal? Like just in general?"

"Nope."

"Well, I'm out of options."

"Hmmm. Maybe I'm just that great at surprising you."

"Oh, please."

"I am," he insisted. "You have no idea what I'm getting- Oh, no."

I frowned as I heard a loud whine start up from somewhere in the house. And not a human one either.

"What is that?" I asked as I heard a sharp yap followed by more whining. "Owen-"

"I'll be right back," he said, jumping up from his chair. "Don't move."

"O-"

"Don't."

I really wanted to defy him and go look for myself, but I was already pretty sure I knew exactly what it was. No need to ruin his surprise even more.

"This," Owen started as he came back down the stairs and into the kitchen, "is your present. I've been calling him The Most Annoying Thing Ever, but you know, I don't expect you to keep that name."

"Owen," I squealed as he came closer, the puppy in his arms squirming to be put down. "Oh my God. You got me a dog?"

"You've wanted one since, like, I met you." He sat the dog in my lap, who immediately began to lick at my face…before trying to move onto my spaghetti. When Owen saw this, he frowned. "Bad dog."

"Don't yell at him." I moved to hug the puppy to me, who immediately started licking me again. "He's our baby now. You know this."

"I figured this."

"Look at him." I smiled down at my puppy before looking up at Owen. "It is a he, right?"

"Yep."

"What kind of-"

"He's a mutt," Owen told me before moving to go sit back down in his seat. "The guy at the pound told me though that's he's gonna be big, 'cause his paws are so big."

"He's so cute," I said, the tan and black spotted dog yapping slightly at me, his tail wagging. "He's not potty trained, is he?"

"No. I've been kinda busy, Bell, with my guitar and stuff."

"How did you convince your mom to let him stay in the house? I thought she was such a clean freak?"

"Mom's not home much," he told me simply. "And your dad was real cool about the idea. He said as long as it wasn't one of those small, annoying dogs, he was fine with it."

"I wonder how Mom will take it."

"I'm sure your father told her." Owen was watching me snuggle my new dog. "You know, I was really more excited by the food."

"Ooh, look at him." I kissed the top of the dog's head. "He's so happy to be with me. Then he's going to go home and sleep in my room and on my bed and I'm never going to be without him again. We'll go on long walks and, ooh, Bear, we can take him to the park and you can go to the groomers with us."

"You sound like you love him more than me already."

"Well, Owen, he's our baby. Of course I love him more. That's only common sense." I pulled my phone out with one hand and immediately started taking selfies with my puppy. "He's really photogenic."

"Oh, Bella."

"What should we name him, Bear?"

"He's yours. You have to decide."

"Well, are we doing a dog name? Like Fido or Buddy? Or are we doing a human name?"

"Bell, I really don't know. Pets aren't my thing these days."

"You're such a bad daddy. And so early in the game."

He just stared at me. "You do realize that dogs are more than just a cute little animal. They're lots of responsib-"

"Oh, shut up, Bear." I finally set my puppy down who barked once before running off. "Let's finish our dinner then."

"You're going to eat that? After the puppy ate off it?"

"I let him lick my face and mouth," I pointed out. "Not to mention I eat after you."

"Eh. Good point."

After dinner, Owen and I headed back to his room, him immediately going to set up some music while I crashed on his bed. My puppy had followed us into the room and was laying on a blanket Owen had put out for him, chewing on some old stuffed animals and chew toys.

"I love you," Owen told me when he finally came over to snuggle on the bed. I smiled at him, shifting to accommodate him. "Bella."

"I love my puppy," I told him as he kissed my neck. "Look at him. He- Oh, Owen, he wants up on the bed. Move."

He frowned as I shifted again, moving to pick my doggy up and lay him down on the bed with us.

"I didn't realize it would happen so soon."

"What would?" I asked as the dog licked my face.

"That he'd replace me. I figured it'd take a few weeks. Not less than an hour."

"He's just so cute," I told Owen who moved to get off the bed. This was no concern to me as I just moved to snuggle my puppy.

"Yeah," he grumbled as he headed over to his computer. "Ain't he?"

When I got home that night, it was with a water dish, food dish, leash, and a very cute red collar that looked amazing on my dog. He wasn't very good in the car, but it was understandable. I knew that we'd be in for a long night, given he was about to be introduced yet again to a new place.

"This is your home now," I told my puppy as I carried him into the house, leaving his stuff out in the car for a moment. I figured I should show him around some first. "Aren't you so happy?"

As it was almost midnight when I got there, no one was up. Dad and Uncle Dan, however, hadn't headed off to bed and were in the living room, both passed out, Uncle Dan in the chair, Dad on the couch. I immediately went over to my father and sat my puppy down on his chest.

Dad woke with a start as my dog began to sniff his face. It startled him for a second, but slowly, he began to blink and focused his eyes in on me.

"Annabel," he moaned as he moved to sit up, the dog still excitedly investigating him. "You-"

"Thank you so much for my dog," I told him, still extremely happy by what had occurred. "I love him and-"

"I am so sorry, Annabel, for making you upset before," my father cut me off, this no doubt having been bothering him. He didn't even seem concerned with the dog. "You know that I love you. I didn't mean to get so…whatever about-"

"Dad, I don't even care about that anymore. You let Owen get me a dog!" I couldn't help keeping my enthusiasm down. "Look at him."

My father just stared up at me. "So you're not upset with me?"

"Of course not," I told him as I moved to pick up my dog once more. "You let me get a dog. What more could I ever want?"


	4. Chapter 4

Hot and Cold

Chapter 4

Saturday morning I woke up to probably the most disgusting smell in the world.

"Annabel, your dog pooped in the hallway. I told your father not to let him buy you a dog, but no. You had to have a dog. And now-"

I groaned, peeking my eyes open. "Mom, I'm going to need proof that it was Aero."

"Proof? That it was- Aero? Is that the dog's name?"

"I'm trying it out," I said, sitting up slightly. "Where is he?"

"I don't know. Why was he out of your room to begin with?"

"He got bored last night so I let him roam." I slowly got out of bed. "You were in bed with I got home. Have you seen him? Isn't he so cute?"

"No, I haven't seen him, Annabel, but I've smelled him." My mother crossed her arms as she stood in my doorway, clearly less than thrilled by the most recent house development. "Come clean it up. Now."

"What?"

"Who did you think was going to clean up after him?"

"Not me. I didn't buy him."

"Do you see your boyfriend around? No. So get your butt up and clean this hallway. And it had better not stain my carpet."

So that happened. I had to clean up dog crap. I think it was then that my joy in owning a dog finally came crashing down around me. This was going to be an every day thing. I mean, even after I housetrain him, I'm still going to have to pick up the poop when he does it outside. Hmmm. I wonder if I can teach him to poop only when Owen's over…

I found my puppy downstairs after I finished cleaning up after him. He was up and actively chewing on one of my mother's throw pillows. Unfortunately, my mother came into the living room at the same time.

"Damn it, Annabel. Your stupid-"

"Don't yell," I complained, rushing to go pull my dog away from the pillow. "Ooh, I hope he didn't eat any of the stuffing. He might get a tummy ache."

"Drew, wake up," my mother hissed as my father snoozed on the couch. "If you hadn't thrown the damn pillow on the ground, he wouldn't have been eating it. I know that you're up. Get up!"

"Grace," Dad groaned, not moving from his spot on the couch. "It's the first day. Don't start out hating the dog."

"It's hard not to when he's ruining my house!"

"Mom, don't yell." I kissed the dog's head, who responded by wiggling in my arms. "You'll scare him. This is all new for him too, okay? And Owen said that I just need to buy him so bones or something."

"He's teething," Dad mumbled from the couch. "I'll buy him some chew toys, huh?"

"And a doghouse because that's where he'll be staying."

"Grace-"

"Mom-"

"I thought you had work today anyways, Drew?" Mom was standing there, hands on her hips. I was starting to realize that it was going to be me who had to clean up the ripped up pillow.

"I do," he mumbled before letting out a long groan. "Annabel, take your dog outside and let him run around some. Wear him down, huh?"

"It's cold out there," I told him with a frown. "There's snow on the ground."

"He's a dog," my uncle grumbled from the chair, where I thought he was still sleeping. "He's made for the outdoors."

"Kuma's just a baby," I told them with a frown.

"Kuma?"

I kissed my puppy again. "It means bear."

"Oh God," Dad groaned as he finally pushed up from the couch. "I knew I shouldn't have let him get you this dog. I should have gotten it."

"Well," I said slowly as I moved to set my puppy back down. "Owen and I both agree that it's our baby now so-"

"What?"

Mom let out a long sigh. "Annabel, clean up the mess he made. And you're going to have to learn to keep a better eye on him."

With that, she walked away, clearly upset. Still, it was only six in the morning. I did not need to be up that early on a Saturday morning.

"He's going to need dog food," I told my father as I started to clean up the pillow and fluff inside it. While I was busy Aero/Kuma/Other Random Names was busy running around in circles. "Owen gave me some, but I'm going to need more. And those little dog booties. So his feet don't get cold."

Dad just stared at me for a moment before shaking his head and heading off. "Yes to the food, no to the…booties."

"Dad-"

"He's a dog, Annabel. Not a baby. And definitely not your baby."

"Well, he kind of is so-"

"No," he told me. "He's not."

Rolling my eyes, I went to throw away the pillow before going to scoop up Kuma and take him back to my bedroom.

"We're going back to bed," I told my puppy, who responded by licking my cheek. "And this time, you're actually going to go to sleep."

Shutting my door firmly behind me, I deposited Kuma on my bed before going over to my closet to find some old stuffed animals for him to play with. He busied himself with getting all tangled in my blankets though, letting out these cute little yipping noises while he was at it. I really didn't want him to chew a hole in my sheets or something.

"Aero," I complained slightly, coming back with a stuffed tiger and rabbit for him to nibble on. He immediately snatched the tiger from me before shaking it around.

"Behave."

Once he and I were both all snuggly on the bed, I took a picture to send to Owen before settling down once more. After all, I would have a busy day once I finally truly got up. I did have a new puppy to spend hours fawning over.

* * *

"Okay, Kuma, just, uh, poop and I'll just, uh, put it in this bag," I told my dog who was running around in the snow. He didn't seem to dislike it like I feared, which was good. Still, I knew it was far too cold for him to be out there long, like Dad and Uncle Dan thought.

Kuma looked up at me and barked before going back to sniffing the ground. His tail was wagging as erratically as it had most the day as he rushed around, searching for the right spot to, hopefully, poop. We were going to lunch in about two hours and Mom told me if he didn't poop then I wouldn't be allowed to keep him in the house while we were gone. And there was no way I was going to let him stay in the big, cold backyard all alone. I'd just skip that damn dinner before I did that.

"Hurry, Kuma," I complained gently, rubbing my arms. "It's cold and I have to get ready. Not that I really want to leave you alone. You're so tiny."

It took some cajoling and some waiting, but eventually I got Kuma to do what I wanted. Then I had to hold down a barf as I cleaned it up.

"You're gonna have to learn to wait for Owen to do this kind of stuff," I told my dog as we headed back into the house. He was covered in snow and grass and shook the second he got to my mother's kitchen floor. She was in there and saw it, but took it better than she had everything else that day.

"I know Owen meant well," Mom began. "I mean, he always means well."

"He does."

"This dog though is going to be the death of me," she said with a shake of her head. "Look at him. He's not even scared of being in a new place! Most puppies are timid. Not this one. God."

"Well," I said slowly. "Owen said he got him from the pound, so he's probably used to bad places. And besides, I love that he's this way."

"You don't own the house, Annabel."

Kuma began barking then, running from the room and into the dining room. Mom let out a slow breath before taking another sip of her coffee.

"Where are we going to lunch?" I asked her as I went to wash my hands.

"Some place your sister wanted to go," she said with an eye roll. "Is Owen going to make it?"

"He said he wants to, but he's kind of broke and-"

"Oh, Annabel," she complained. "Call the boy back and tell him that we'll buy his lunch. Honestly."

"I don't-"

"Do it." She rolled her eyes. "I mean, honestly. We wouldn't have made him pay anyways."

"Why wouldn't we have?" Dad came into the room, Kuma snapping at his feet as he trailed behind him.

"Because, Drew, we were taking him out to dinner."

"Am I paying for all of them?"

"I doubt it," she said with a sigh. "I'm sure Lucas will want to pay for him and Whitney and Kirsten's all gung-ho about taking care of herself these days. She doesn't want anything from you, remember?"

He gave her a long look for that. "I took off part of work for this, Grace, so I'd watch it."

She made a face at him before taking a long sip of her coffee. So they weren't doing any better. Huh.

"Besides, Drew, we're paying for your brother's meal, are we not?"

"He's down on his luck currently."

"And you're all out of lucky. Funny how that works out."

"I meant what I said, Grace."

"You- Oh, Drew."

Kuma let out a loud whine as my father stepped on one of his paws. I immediately rushed to go pick him up while the puppy continued to whine.

"I'm sorry," Dad sighed, turning to look at me while I just glared at him. "Annabel, he was under my feet."

"That is no excuse."

"Annabel-"

"He's just a baby."

"I'm really getting tired of you saying that."

Kuma yipped again and I let him down. He immediately ran out of the room, no doubt to get away from my father.

"See what you did?"

"I'm over the dog. Officially over him." Dad went over to the fridge to get himself a coke. "Text your boyfriend, Annabel. Tell him that we'll buy his lunch."

"Thank you," I said, smiling at him, though my dad only popped the tab on his drink without saying anything. My mother was still glaring at him and, or fear that they would start fighting again, I went ahead and left the room, not only to text Owen, but also in search of my dog.

"Kuma," I called as I headed into the living room. "Come here, Kuma."

I found him in the living room, all tangled up in a blanket my dad had left on the floor from his night spent on the couch. Figuring that was for the better at the moment just so long as it kept his attention, I went to sit down on the couch with a sigh.

"I don't like your dog."

I made a face at Kirsten as she came into the room. "Well, I don't like your baby, so-"

"Oh, shut up."

Kuma was caught up then and couldn't untangle himself. I had to get down on the floor to help him, but I didn't mind. I loved him.

"Oh, you're so big," I told him as I headed over to the couch to sit down. Kirsten paused before deciding to sit down in the chair instead of next to me. Not that I cared. I had Kuma.

"So your boyfriend isn't coming to lunch?"

"He is," I told Kirsten as Kuma settled down with his head in my lap. "But you're not going to be worried about him anyways. Lucas is going, remember?"

"Oh, I know." She looked at me then. "Whitney's about to forget all about you."

"I don't know why you'd mess with her to begin with."

"Do you know what she's done to me? I mean, freaking God. I chose her to be a bridesmaid and she acts like a jerk."

"What has she done to you?"

"She's bitched me out about every time we talk. And she's not supportive at all. And then she yelled at me last week about how I never do what I say I'll do and how I'm being very-"

"Whitney yelled?"

"She didn't _yell_," Kirsten said with an eye roll. "She just got very upset with me."

"I'm not very happy with her either right now."

"Oh, Annabel, stop hitting on her boyfriend and it'll all be better."

"I'm not hitting on her boyfriend."

"And have you seen those pictures that she's been posting? Desperate much?"

"I dunno," I said slowly. "I thought that one where they were laying on the couch was kind of cute."

"Oh, Annabel."

"I mean, you post photos of you and Brian."

"Yeah, but that's not all I post," she defended. "I post a lot of things."

"A lot," I agreed, making her frown.

"Oh and you don't?"

"Not as much as you." Then I looked down at Kuma who was panting slightly. "Although now I'm going to be taking a thousand pictures with my baby, so-"

"Oh, grow up. It's a dog."

"He's the best dog ever."

"You've had him less than twenty-four hours. Let it set in."

"He's probably the best thing that will happen to this family this year. And, I mean, this year is the year that I go to college, you get married, and you have a baby, but so what? Kuma is the best-"

"That is the dumbest name ever."

"It means bear," I told her with a frown. "Like his daddy."

"God, you're making me want to barf."

"You're just jealous because you and Brian aren't as cute as Owen and I."

"Oh, right. Sure. No one even knows why you're with him, so cute is not the word for it. Bizarre is more like it."

"No one in this family even likes Brian," I told her. "You don't even liked Brian most the time."

I thought she would yell at me for that. But instead, she just laughed. Loudly. It disturbed Kuma, who whined slightly.

"Oh, Annabel," she sighed. "One day, you're going to have to figure out how to really argue with someone, you know that?"

Looking down at my dog, I said, "Whatever, Kirsten."

She reached forwards to grab the remote before turning on the television. As she was running a hand down her stomach, she said, "I will pay you, Annabel, if you don't call that dog Kuma."

"I love that name."

"It's stupid."

"Well, what are you naming your baby?"

"Why? So you can call whatever I say stupid?"

"…No."

Kirsten rolled her eyes before putting on some home renovating show, effectively ending our conversation. Which honestly was all for the better, since Kuma needed some attention. Then again, I think he'll always need attention.

* * *

Whitney arrived at the restaurant already wearing Lucas' Fedora. This made Owen tell me, "Well, now we have nothing to look forward to."

I didn't say anything to him though as I continued to stare down at the table, not even looking up as my sister and her boyfriend sat down.

"Did you think Kuma is okay?"

"You left him in your room with a bunch of stuffed animals, a bowl of water, and some blankets. He's fine."

"I'm sure he's lonely and misses me."

"He's only known you for a few hours, Bell."

"Still," I said, glancing up then at the sound of my mother speaking. She was talking to Whitney though, greeting her and her boyfriend. When I looked up, I kind of sort of accidentally made eye contact with Lucas, who didn't wag his eye brows or anything crazy like that. He did look back at me though and that made me have to look right back down again.

"Hi, Lucas," Kirsten greeted, almost immediately. My father, who was ripping apart one of the rolls in the center of the table, frowned when he heard the fakeness in her voice. He was across from me and gave me a look for some reason. I just shook my head at him; he really didn't want to know.

"Hi," he said, hardly glancing at her. It was me that he spoke to, even across the table. "Hey, Annabel, I saw your dog."

"Really?" I knew this though, as he had liked one of the pictures with Kuma in it. Whitney had as well, though that wasn't really a big deal. She liked a lot of my stuff. It was just me in general that she didn't like. "His name's Kuma."

"I thought you were trying out different names?" Mom asked, frowning.

"No, I settled on that."

"Great," Dad grumbled while Uncle Dan just shook his head. Whitney only sighed as the waiter came by and sat a menu in front of her and her boyfriend. Lucas was all grinning and laughing. He tried to joke with the guy, but the waiter was all business. Unfortunately for him, I think most everyone at the table was.

"I had a lot of dogs when I was a kid," Lucas told me then, figuring at least I would play along with him. "I mean, they're all dead now, but-"

"Suicide, was it?" Whitney asked dryly.

"Anorexia, I heard."

She hit him then. Hard. That was the only sound at the table then, as everyone looked over at them in silence. Well, except for Uncle Dan, who laughed rather hard.

"It's funny," he told us all then as Whitney glared at Lucas. "Because-"

"It's not funny," Mom told him rather harshly, though she was glaring at Lucas. "At all."

That pretty much killed dinner. Only Kirsten seemed interested in talking, but that wasn't unusual. Lucas was mostly quiet and kept look at Whitney, but she focused on drinking glass after glass of water. And when it came time to order, all she got was a salad, but no one said anything. Mom was upset though and it was obvious. Dad, however, looked pretty ticked off at Lucas. Owen and I focused on texting each other and whispering softly.

_Bet Kuma is sad._

_Course he is. You're not there._

I grinned at Owen then who smiled back at me. Kirsten was still talking about the wedding though only Mom seemed to be listening. And that was only somewhat. Dad kept stirring his drink with his straw, an annoyed look on his face.

_Lucas is in trouble._

_He was rude._

_He was joking._

_You just like him, Bella._

_No._

_Do too._

I looked up at Owen who shook his head at me.

Things didn't get any better when the food came. Lucas spent the majority of it trying to coax Whitney into trying some of his meal, probably in an attempt to get her to eat more than just her salad, which she hardly ate to begin with.

"If I wanted chicken fried steak, Lucas, that's what I would have ordered."

"Just asking."

"Twenty times," she said as she stood then. "I'll be back."

She headed off to the restroom then, setting his hat back on his head before she left the table. Lucas groaned before looking back down at his food, picking at it.

"Hey," Dad said, not soon after Whitney was gone. He hit the table slightly, making everyone look at him. He was zoned in on Lucas however. "You're a real ass, you know that?"

"Andrew," Mom sighed, rolling her eyes heavily. My uncle, the only one who had ordered alcohol, began to drink more of his beer. "Knock it off."

Lucas snorted then before shaking his head. "This is really getting old, you know? I mean, I did give up the few hours I have before going back to work so that I could eat lunch with her family. You know, the same family that I've continued to come to dinners for even though you really don't like me? Yeah. Whatever."

"Maybe if you weren't such a little smart-"

"Drew." Mom wasn't kidding anymore it was obvious from the way she looked at my father. Then, to Lucas, she said, "I'm sorry, Lucas, if you feel like we don't like you, but what you said was very-"

"I'm over this," he said simply as he stood. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his billfold before tossing some money on the table, no doubt to cover his meal, before walking off.

"Andrew." Mom was glaring at him then. "I can't believe you just-"

"Well, now Whitney can just move on from him and-"

"Move on?" Mom gestured the way Lucas had walked off. "Look."

Sure enough, Whitney headed out of the bathroom at the exact right moment and ran right into Lucas, who said something quickly to her before they headed off, her not even looking back at our table.

"And you all say that I'm high maintenance," Kirsten commented while Owen made eyes at me. I only shook my head. I really don't know why we have get-togethers anymore. They never end well. Never.

* * *

"Whitney liked another one of my photos."

"So?"

"So that means she's not mad at me," I told Owen. "If she was, she wouldn't have even looked at it."

"Why would she be mad at you? It was your dad that made her upset. Or, well, made Lucas upset."

"He hasn't liked a photo. Think he's mad at me?"

"I don't know, Bell," Owen sighed. "How often should you like someone's photos?"

"However often you actually like it, I guess."

"Well, maybe you haven't posted one yet that he likes. How many have you posted since lunch?"

"I don't know, Owen."

"A lot?"

"No more than usual."

He just sat there on my floor, rolling a tennis ball back and forth in front of Kuma, who happily chased it around. I was up on my bed, going through stuff on my phone.

"Are you going to get him a dog bed?" Owen asked me then.

"He sleeps up here with me," I told him. "Duh."

"Duh," Owen mimicked back as Kuma whined. I glanced over at them, but he was just rubbing his head on the ground at that point.

"Is he okay?"

"Marking his scent, I guess."

"Mmmm."

"You know he's going to try and pee in your room pretty soon," Owen warned.

"I don't think he's even old enough to lift his leg yet," I said dismissively. Then, rolling onto my side, I said, "Whitney just posted a photo."

"Of?"

"I think she's at Lucas' club. She is not with Lucas though."

"Well, she can't just sit around while h bartends. That'd be boring."

"You know that bar she took us to got closed down."

"It was a Friday night and there was no one there."

"Yeah. Whitney said that Lucas told her that the owner just couldn't do it anymore."

"I imagine he couldn't."

"She said Lucas wasn't concern though and-"

"When were you talking to Whitney about this? Haven't you guys been fighting? Like, every single time you've seen each other?"

"We text sometimes. And then sometimes she tells Mom stuff and Mom tells me."

"Oh." He tilted his head back to look up at me. "Other than the meltdown thing, lunch was pretty good."

"Yeah, it was, wasn't it?"

"I mean, for us. Your parents though-"

"At least you got to come over afterwards."

"At least that."

"And Kuma's really happy to see you."

"He is."

"…Do you like that name?"

"It's better than what I was calling him."

"He's not annoying, so yes, you're right."

"Who's going to train him?"

"You are."

"Annabel-"

"You're daddy."

"Yeah, and that means that I pay for, like, his vet visits and stuff."

"What?"

"I don't raise him. This is a child support only kind of situation."

He got a flick to the head as I finally stood up.

"Come on, Kuma, Owen."

"Where are we going?"

"To watch TV."

"Something specific?"

"There's this movie on that-"

"Does it come on a chick channel?"

"…It depends on what you think-"

"Bella-"

"You will like it. I promise."

"What's it about?"

"A cheating guy that-"

"No. Annabel-"

"It's date night, Owen. And you already didn't pay for my dinner. You owe me this."

"I did buy you a freaking puppy."

"You got him from the pound. They practically give those away."

"That's a good point, but-"

"Stop arguing with me, Owen. You're upsetting Kuma."

That wasn't true though, as Kuma was excitedly rushing over to the stairs before cautiously heading down them. He was so smart.

"Dad," I began as I came into the living room. "In ten minutes, there's a movie on that I really want to watch."

He was in his chair, staring hard at the television. He hardly glanced at me.

"Go to Owen's house."

"Dad-"

"Annabel, I'm watching something."

"Well, if you bought me a TV for my bedroom-"

"Fine, Annabel, watch your stupid movie."

I took the remote from him happily as Owen and I settled on the couch. Kuma had followed us into the room, but with a few barks, he headed off to the kitchen, where his water and food bowl was located.

"What's this movie about?" Dad asked as I started flipping through the channels.

"A guy that's cheating on-"

"I'll be in the kitchen," Dad sighed as he pushed up and headed out of the room. "If you need me."

"Can you get Kuma fresh water?"

"Annabel-"

"Please?"

After Dad was gone, Owen and I waited for a minute or two before getting truly comfortable, me moving to lay my head in his lap, him shifting so that he was leaning back.

"I have to go home eventually, Bell," Owen told me eventually. He waited for a commercial though, which was nice of him.

"I know."

"Soon, I mean. I have to check this week's playlist again."

"You have a thousand times, I'm sure."

"Still."

"You can go now," I told him. "If you're not having fun."

"Well, I'm certainly not, but-"

"Owen-"

"I can stay until the movie's over," he sighed, running a hand down my stomach. "If you want."

"I want."

"Alright then."

I shifted to sit up. "In all honesty, just go, if you're miserable."

"Miserable is a strong word."

"Yeah, I-"

"And yet it totally qualifies in this situation."

"Bear-"

"I love you." He kissed me then before standing. "And I'll pick you up in the morning, huh?"

"Owen-"

"And then after we eat breakfast, we'll take Kuma for a walk. Sound like fun?"

"I don't know," I said flippantly. "Will you be miserable doing it?"

"Probably."

"Owen-"

"I love you. Bye."

Dad joined me not soon after Owen ditched me. He was carrying my puppy, who was shivering for some reason.

"The dog and I went outside," Dad told me simply as he dropped Kuma in my lap. "He looks pretty cold."

"Dad," I complained as he sat down next to me. "I need to buy him a coat."

"He's a dog, Annabel. He has a built in coat."

"It's clearly not enough for him."

"Clearly," Dad said dryly, reaching over to scratch behind the dog's ear. "Your mother isn't back yet."

"She went out with Kirsten. They probably won't be back for-"

"Till I'm asleep," he told me with a shake of his head. Kuma licked his hand, which immediately made my father withdrawal his hand. "What that boy said was out of line."

"He's not a boy, Dad."

"That's what makes it even worse. He was a grown man acting that way."

"He was making a joke. And Whitney does treat him pretty badly too."

"Would it be funny if Owen said something about that Cash boy?"

I couldn't speak for a moment. "D-Dad-"

"He upset Whitney too."

"She still left with him. And she's at his job with him right now. Err, well, she's dancing at a club and I'm pretty sure it's his. Pretty sure."

Dad rolled his eyes then before looking back at the television. My movie was still going and I was afraid he was going to try and change the channel.

"It's not like I never thought that this would never happen, Annabel," Dad told me with a sigh. "I mean, of course I knew that you would all eventually start dating and whatnot. I just don't…I don't like Lucas."

"But why?"

"He's a dick," he told me flatly. "And I don't like the way that he treats your sister."

"You don't see the good things he does for her though."

"What, Annabel?"

"Well, I don't know, Dad, you should ask her."

He rolled his eyes. "That's because he does nothing."

"I know that he's really, really protective over her. That he's really worried about how…sick she was and stuff. I know that he puts up with her attitude, which has to be the hardest thing in the world. Ever. She's really, really hard to put up with."

"Yeah, I know."

"But he really likes her. He likes messing with her, fine, but that's, like, his only reprieve from her constant bad attitude."

"You know," Dad started slowly, glancing at me. "They all think that you have a, uh, crush on this guy."

"Dad-"

"Please, God, I don't even want you to be friends with him. If I have to listen to Grace talk to Whitney on the phone about how you're…hitting on her boyfriend again, I'm going to kill myself."

"I don't like him."

"It's okay if you do." He elbowed me gently. "Annabel."

"I don't, Dad. And no, it's not okay."

"It's okay for you to have a little crush on him. If he returned it then, no, that wouldn't be okay."

I made a face at him. "I'm eighteen. He's only ten years older than me."

"Would it be okay for a eighteen year old to be with an eight year old? No"

"Would it be okay for someone in their fifties to be with someone in their forties? Yes.

"That's different, Annabel."

I thought of a really good comeback for him then, about how old his was compared to that chick I caught him with. Then I realized how much I hated when Mom did that to him and just turned to look back at the television.

"I wanna finish my movie," I told him simply as Kuma snuggled against me. He was still freezing, I'm sure. "Can you hand me that blanket? Kuma's cold."

He grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch before throwing it over my lap. Kuma who was stuck under it, started whining until I freed him.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" Dad moved to wrap an arm around my shoulders.

"No. You haven't done anything to me."

"Good. They're all pissed at me. Your mom, your sisters, even Danny's a little pissed at me right now."

"Mom's not going to be happy with you again," I told him bluntly. "She's pretty upset with you most of the time."

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "It's…nothing to worry about, Annabel. Alright? You don't need to think about it at all.

I looked down at Kuma then who looked back up at me and wiggled. "I don't think that she likes my dog."

"As long as you like him."

"I love him."

"He's very…spunky."

"I like him more that Kirsten's baby."

"Well," Dad said slowly. "I like him more than both your sisters combined right now."

"You're just saying that."

"No, Annabel, I'm not."

"Kirsten's only here for a few more days. And besides, her and Whitney are about to get into such a big fight that you'll probably never see them in a room again."

"Why?"

I glanced over at him. "Kirsten's trying to get Lucas to hit on her to prove a point to Whitney."

"And what point would that be?"

"That she's hotter than her or something and that she shouldn't treat her so badly."

"Whitney treats Kirsten badly," Dad repeated dryly. "Right."

"I don't really like Kirsten right now either though," I told him.

"She'll learn eventually that her new attitude is not winning her over any points with anybody."

"Brian, apparently."

"I like Lucas more than I like him."

"But you like Owen more than them both, right?"

He wasn't amused. "After this whole asking you to marry him crap? No."

"Dad-"

"Annabel, that's not funny."

"It was months ago anyways."

"I don't care."

"I said no."

"Damn right you did." He shook his head. "I'm really getting tired of Owen anyways. If he isn't making you upset and leaving you in tears then he has you angry and all worked up."

"We love each other."

That got me a look. Then he patted Kuma on the head.

"You keep that to this dog, huh?"

My phone buzzed then and I immediately moved to pull it out.

"Your boyfriend?"

"No," I said slowly. "Whitney. She text me. Apparently, you guys suck and she doesn't want any of your money anymore and you should never call her again. Oh, and New York's off, she's not going. She says that…hold on, I need to open the other message…Kirsten's a, uh, the b-word and that you can all go…maybe you should just read it."

"Your sisters are the most ungrateful-"

"How much money do you give Whitney?"

"I pay about fifty dollars of her rent and then whatever else she needs," Dad told me. "Last month I gave her two hundred dollars."

I made a face. "Why don't I get money like that?"

"I still pay for you, Annabel. Not to mention I bought your stupid boyfriend that guitar."

"Oh yeah."

"And you know if you asked me for cash, I would give it to you."

"Yeah, I know."

"And I'm sure this dog is about to cost me an arm and a leg," he complained with a shake of his head. "His food, his toys, his vet bills-"

"Well, Owen's paying for those. The vet visits."

"And why would he do that, Annabel?"

"Well, child support."

"Annabel-"

"He is Kuma's daddy."

"You're doing this just to get under my skin, aren't you?"

"…Is it working?"

"What do you think?"

I leaned against him then, sighing slightly. "Yeah. I figured."

* * *

"So are you and Rolly just not gong to talk to one another anymore?"

"He's the one that flipped out at me," I told Owen as we walked down the street, Kuma tugging along on his leash.

"He was just being a good friend."

"Are you taking his side?"

"I'm not taking either of your sides."

"No," I said slowly. "You're taking my side."

"Annabel-"

"You know you are. If it came down to it, you'd choose me over him."

"It's not going to come down to it though."

"But if it did, you would."

"Well…yeah."

"Then see? So stop sticking up for him."

"He's my friend, Annabel."

"And I don't care if you're still friends with him. Keep being best friends with him. I don't mind. I'm just not going to hangout with him anymore."

"That ruins the trio."

"Then go back to being a duo."

"Annabel-"

"I don't like him."

"Well, Bell, you don't have a lot of people to pick from currently too be your friends, alright?"

I gave him a look for that one. "James and I talked on Friday."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa."

"His class got sent to mine. I just helped him with his math homework."

"I don't like-"

"And I don't like Rolly. Funny how that works out, ain't it?"

"Ain't it? God, I think your uncle needs to head back home."

"He doesn't have a home," I told my boyfriend with a shake of my head. "And I'm afraid that he's decided to make my home his new home."

"Where's he staying anyways? Whitney said that he couldn't stay in her room and now Kirsten's back, so he can't stay in there."

"The couch. Or, well, he was. Now that Whitney's ticked Dad off though, he's not honoring her wishes any longer."

"It's kind of a shame."

"What?"

"I mean, Lucas was kind of, you know, growing on me."

"Oh, bull."

"No, really."

"You're not even a good liar."

"I don't mean that I like him. I just meant that I was getting used to him being around."

"Well, it's not exactly like he's out of the picture yet. Whitney did pick him over us."

"For now."

I looked at him then as Kuma stopped to sniff at a little patch of grass. "Why are you always so certain of our relationship, but not of anyone else's?"

"Because, Bella, I love you." He smiled at me. "And I know that I love you."

"How do you know that Whitney doesn't love Lucas? Or that he doesn't love her?"

"I don't," he told me with a shrug. "But I also don't know that he does love her. Therefore, I can't put any faith in their relationship."

"But you don't know that I love you," I told him then, having to tug on the leash when Kuma tried to chase a bird. The little brat. "Because you never could know that, not really. You would have to take what I said as truth, which is what you'd have to do with Whitney and Lucas."

"I know you love me," he told me with certainty. I glanced at him.

"You do not. I could have been playing you this whole time."

"For one, you can't even bluff in board games. And two, I know."

"How though?"

"I just know," he told me before reaching over to squeeze my neck with his hand. It was cold and made me squirm. "Just like you know."

"I forgot about getting you gloves," I mumbled as he let me go. "Why didn't you remind me?"

"I don't need them."

"You're so hardheaded."

"Am not."

"You didn't want my mother to buy you a jacket at first either." I reached over with my free hand and patted his shoulder. "Now you wear it everyday."

"I didn't need it though."

"Tell me that you're not warmer now."

"I'm warmer, fine, but I still didn't need it. Didn't want it."

I rolled my eyes before looking back at my puppy. "Mom said that I need to make Kuma his vet appointment sometime next week."

"For what? Is he sick?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "You're supposed to take puppies and dogs to the vet regularly. He might need shots or something."

"You take them when you get sick, Bell."

"No, Owen, you take them at least once a year, if not more."

"Huh." He scratched his head. "Well, I'm only paying for when he's sick."

"That's not how it works, Daddy."

"That's how my paycheck works. I mean, he doesn't even look like me!"

I elbowed him for that, but he had it coming. I mean, come on.

As shockingly as it was, Owen couldn't spend all of Sunday with me. After we got back to my house from the walk, he headed back home to finish some homework, promising he'd pick me up in the morning for my radio show.

Kuma and I had just settled won on the couch to start on my homework when Whitney showed up. She came in Lucas' impala, but noticeably without him. Huh. Guess he didn't have such a big phobia of her driving it.

She didn't knock. Guess she doesn't hate us enough to get rid of her key.

"Where's Mom?" was the first thing she said to me as she came into the house. Then she screeched. "Get it away from me!"

Kuma, excited by her entrance, had rushed to greet her. Unfortunately, Whitney had never quite liked dogs. Or animals. Or people. Or life. Or me. Or anything. Except fucking with Lucas. But that's none of my business.

"Down, Kuma," I said, jumping up. "Here. Heel. Stop. Sit. Do something."

He was running around in circles at that point, yipping happily at all the attention he was getting. I quickly went to snatch him up, causing him to whine loudly; he didn't like for me to ruin his fun.

"God, shouldn't it be outside? Like, on a chain or something?"

I made a face at Whitney. "He's a baby."

"He's a freaking monster." She let out a slow breath then before looking around. "Where's Mom?"

"She's in bed still."

"It's past noon."

"Yeah, I know," I said, holding Kuma against his will. "Dad's gone and so is Uncle Dan though. Kirsten's here."

"Doing?"

"She's in her room."

"Well-"

"What was all the screaming about?"

We looked up as Mom came into the room, a frown on her face. I rolled my eyes.

"Whitney's afraid of Kuma."

"I'm not afraid of him. I just don't like him."

"Well, he's your first nephew, so you better learn to like him."

"Oh, Annabel."

"What are you doing here, sweetheart?" Mom, who was still not dressed for the day, came closer to Whitney, laying a hand on her arm. "Your father said that you're not talking to us anymore."

Whitney turned her eyes on me, glaring, but I only grinned sheepishly.

"Dad and I were watching TV together," I defended weakly. "He was right there when you sent the-"

She huffed slightly, which was my cue to shut right up.

"I was out last night when I sent that," she told our mother.

Drunk. That must be what she means.

"Well," Mom said slowly. "Your father is not very pleased with you."

"Well," she countered back. "I'm not very pleased with him."

My mom didn't have a retort to this. She wasn't either. Honestly, only I was and that's really only because he let Owen get me Kuma.

Sighing, Mom ran a hand through her hair before saying, "It was just…your father doesn't rather like what Lucas said at dinner last-"

"I don't care what he thinks."

"Is that why you came?" she asked then, slowly looking Whitney over. "Because I'm not really sure your father-"

"When does he get back?"

"Is he not home?"

Whitney looked to me. "Annabel?"

"Well, he just went to the hardware store," I told her. "So I'd say-"

"Great. I'll wait."

"Then I'm setting Kuma down," I told her. "So don't yell and scream. He doesn't like it."

"You and this dog have got to stop."

"You just don't know love like I know now."

"Thank God."

"You two knock it off," Mom said, making a face at both of us. "I have to go take a shower, Whitney. Your father should be back soon. I won't be long. Your older sister is in her room if you need-"

"Trust me," Whitney said dryly. "We won't."

When Mom left, Whitney and I both sat down on the couch, her quickly moving her feet up there as well, to keep them away from Kuma, I'm sure. He only stayed in the living room for a moment though before running off.

"Is Lucas mad at me?" I asked before I had a chance to think of the repercussions for such a question. "Or is it just, like, Dad? Because-"

"You're not serious right now."

"He followed me," I told her, pulling out my phone then. "So I just figured-"

"He what?"

"Well, yeah," I said, nodding my head. "That's how he knew about Kuma."

She blinked. Then she blinked again.

"You really like this dog."

"Well, yeah."

"And my boyfriend."

"No," I said, making a face at her. "Not like how you're making it out."

"Then what is it, Annabel?" She looked hard at me, but didn't look too pissed off for once. "Why are you so obsessed with my boyfriend?"

"I'm not," I defended. "It's just…I don't have a lot of friends, okay? And Lucas is really nice to me. Really nice. And I just figured that, you know, if you're planning on being with him for awhile, that it would be okay, you know? If I was at least cool with him. Because I'm not with Brian and it's awkward when I see him. And I…like Lucas. Okay, fine. But I like a lot of people. And why can't I be friends with him? If he has you, there's no way he's interested in me."

"Why would you say that?"

I gave her a look. "You know that you're way hotter than me. You shouldn't make me have to say it."

"Annabel-"

"You are. You've always been."

She let out a long sigh then before shifting on the couch so that she could reach over and stroke my cheek. This was new for us. Very new. It freaked me out, honestly.

"It's not even about that with guys," she told me softly, staring into my eyes. "Not really. I mean it is somewhat, but not always. A guy with a nine will cheat with a four if the four keeps throwing herself at him."

"…Am I the four?"

"No," she sighed, moving away from me then. "You're not."

"…but you're definitely the nine. Right?"

She just patted me on the shoulder then. Not answer the question, she said, "Lucas isn't mad at you, Annabel. He just got a little pissed last night. He really didn't want to go to lunch to begin with. He was afraid he was going to be late for work. And then when he said…that…he likes for people to think that he's funny, you know?"

"He got his feelings hurt," I said slowly.

"Yeah. And he knew from the start that Dad didn't like him." She rolled her eyes. "Nto that he'd like anyone anyways. I mean, what's Lucas done?"

"Dad said that he's got a smart mouth."

"And he doesn't?"

"I'm just telling you what he said."

She let out a long breath before shaking her head. "Lucas is the guy that I'm with, so Dad needs to just get over it."

"Why don't you ever just, you know, say boyfriend?"

"What?"

"You almost always go out of your way to say something other than boyfriend."

"I don't need to call him my boyfriend. He is…what he is."

I gave her a long look. "Are you, like, afraid of losing him?"

"What?"

"Are you?"

"No." She tossed her hair back then. "Lucas isn't going anywhere. And even if he was, I would be just as happy without him."

But she wouldn't be. She hadn't been happy for awhile before him. I don't get why that wasn't enough for Dad to just back off. It had worked with Owen and me.

"Do you love him?"

"Annabel-"

"Do you?"

She rolled her eyes heavily. "It's not that simple."

"You've almost known him for a year, right? In, like, four months, it'll have been a year."

"So?"

"You should know by then, I'd think."

"That's because you think with a high school mentality."

"Whatever, Whitney."

"I like Lucas, if that's what you mean," she told me with a sigh. "A lot. And I plan on staying with him for awhile."

"Good."

"Yeah."

I wasn't sure if I was at peace with Whitney then or if we were just calling a truce for the moment, but I was glad for it. Even if it was quickly broken up by my father's arrival.

We had seen him pull up through the glass front, of course, but neither of us moved from the couch to greet him. In fact, Whitney waited until he made it into the living room to even speak again.

"I brought lunch, Annabel," Dad was saying as he made it in there. "It's on the kitchen tab- Oh. Whitney. Thought you weren't going to speak to us ever again?"

"Dad-"

She cut me off of course as she stood. She just stared at my father for a moment before speaking.

"Lucas tried really, really hard to get you to like him," she told our father as she stared at him. "And you've only tried just as hard to make him feel unwelcome."

"That's not-"

"True? It's very true and you know it. You've been in a bad mood since Mom ruined your little fun cheating on her and it's gone on long enough. The rest of us have lives, Dad, and they've kept on going. Just because yours was shut down-"

"You really need to stop," he told her harshly then. I made a face because I got slapped when I said something, all that time ago. I would have voiced a complaint, but given the special treatment I had received over the years, it seemed a moot point. "I am very tired of people mouthing off about things that aren't any of their business."

"Oh tired of it?" She snorted. "You sure 'mouth off' about my-"

"You're my daughter, Whitney." He was almost yelling at her then. He rarely yelled at any of us. Kirsten, as of late, but hardly ever Whitney and I. Especially since we've gotten older. "Not my equal. It is my business what you're doing with your life. It is not yours what I do. And if you ever come in this house, my house, talking to me that way, you can just get the hell out and never come back."

And that was it. There went Whitney's fight. With one last glare at my father, she went right back to sulking off. Only, instead of like when we were children, her room was not where she went. Instead, she headed out of the house. Dad stood there for a minute, breathing heavily, while watching her leave out the glass front of the house.

"Well, aren't you happy now?"

I looked up as my mother came into the room, clearly having just gotten out of the shower. I assumed she had heard the whole thing from the stairs or something, as she had a knowing look in her eyes.

"Grace," Dad groaned, finally turning. "Not now. I-"

"You're going to make up with Lucas."

"I don't-"

"You are. You're going to make up with him and your daughter because that's what a father does. You're going to bite your tongue about her relationship, no matter what you think of it. Because guess what, Andrew? She doesn't care. She clearly doesn't care."

He snorted before looking at me. I wouldn't look at him though, instead staring at Kuma, who had ran into the room after hearing all the commotion.

"Yeah, well," he began, turning off to the kitchen, no doubt to get his lunch. "At this point, I don't much either."


	5. Chapter 5

Hot and Cold

Chapter 5

"God, Whitney, you live in a dump."

"That's really rude," I mumbled to Kirsten as Whitney stood on the other side of the door, staring out at us. Owen, who was behind me, sighed slightly.

"Can we come in? Or me at least?" he asked. "I have to pee."

Whitney stepped aside then and my boyfriend, who was kind enough to drive my oldest sister and I, rushed in. I was quick to follow. Whitney allowed this, but moved to block the doorway once more to bar Kirsten from entrance.

"What are you doing here?"

"You haven't come by the house and we need to discuss things, Whitney."

"Well, Luke is over right now and-"

"So what? I don't have a problem with your stupid boyfriend."

"I have a problem though, with being called stupid," Lucas called from over by the couch, where he was sitting down, watching something on TV. When he saw me looking at him, he nodded me over. When I got to him and sat down, he just elbowed me slightly. "Where's your dog?"

"At home," I sighed. "I didn't think Whitney would want him in her apartment."

"Probably not," he agreed. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Kirsten needed a ride and Owen offered to drive," I told him. "Were you guys busy today? I didn't want to call, because I knew if I did and told Whitney what was up, she wouldn't want Kirsten over here."

"Nah," he said with a shake of his head. "I just got back from the gym. And Whit's off today anyways."

I glanced back over at my sisters, who were still arguing at the door.

"I can't just leave, Whitney. They were my ride."

"That sucks, doesn't it?"

Lucas elbowed me then before nodding at the television. "See that there? This guy wants a house with a pool, but the realtor's only shown him houses without one. One's not in their price range. I-"

"You like home shows?"

"Nah," he told me with a sigh. "But Whitney's the one with the paid TV bill, not me. So we have to stay over here and watch what she wants. She said that I could watch the basketball game though, so that's good."

Lucas seemed really down to me as he spoke. Tired. Or something.

Whitney turned around then, causing me to focus in on her. "Come in then, Kirsten. If you have to."

"I have to."

Lucas glanced over at them before at me. "Is your boyfriend taking a shit in the bathroom?"

"He better not be," Whitney said before glaring at the closed bathroom door. "You better not be, Owen!"

The door opened then and he just stared out at her. "I wasn't. Trust me."

Lucas sighed slightly, moving to turn the television sound up. "Shhh. I need to know which house they bought."

Whitney rolled her eyes. "This isn't even one of those shows, dummy. They're renovating their house."

"Why do you ruin everything for me?"

"What do you want to talk about, Kirsten?" Whitney asked as Owen came to join us on the couch. I interlaced our fingers almost immediately, making him grin at me. Lucas only turned the television up even louder. "Because I'm busy today and don't- Lucas, turn it down."

"I-"

"Now."

"She's so mean to me," Lucas mumbled to me before doing as she asked. Then he pulled his phone out. To Whitney he said, "This is why I text other women."

"You do not."

"I do too."

She rolled her eyes while I looked over at his phone. He was watching videos on Youtube. Whitney didn't seem that concerned anyways.

"Can we talk in the bedroom?" Kirsten asked Whitney then, looking around. "Or something?"

The apartment in New York that Mom and Dad got her was far nicer. Dad had been willing throw some cash at Whitney too, when she wanted an apartment here. Rent would have cost less too, just from the fact it wasn't in New York. Still, Whitney was insistent that she picked her own place and paid for most of it. My sisters differed in that way, I suppose.

"If you want," Whitney said, clearly not amused. When she passed the couch, she pushed her boyfriend's head gently, who didn't respond in the slightest. Given the things she did to him most the time, shoving his head was pretty loving. "Come on."

Owen yawned as they headed into the bedroom, leaving the three of us behind. I just leaned against his arm, staring at the television. It had been a long day, after all.

"You can take my car to go see Cam," I told him eventually when it was clear Whitney and Kirsten wouldn't be coming out any time soon. "If you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am."

"I don't want to leave you-"

"You won't be. You'll come back later, huh? In an hour or so?"

"I guess so. You'll call me if you need me to come back?"

"Yeah, sure. You can go be with Mallory though."

This was the plan from the beginning. After Kirsten finished up with Whitney, we were all going to go see Mallory with Kirsten coming along. Mallory had long been fascinated with my older sisters and Kirsten had agreed to go tell her some modeling stories. I figured though that if Owen went there first, he might see if Mallory was really up for visitors or not.

"I love you," he said when he finally stood, letting my fingers fall through his.

"I love you too."

He leaned down to kiss me. It was quick, sweet, but then again, Lucas was sitting on my other side. He wasn't watching, just staring down at his phone, but it was still awkward.

"See you when I get back."

"See you then."

When it was just Lucas and I again, I quickly shifted to the other side of the couch, figuring that would save me from Whitney's anger later.

"Your boyfriend's sister ain't doing well, is she?" Lucas shook his head, not waiting for an answer. "Whitney told me that she likes you."

"Yeah, she does."

He paused then and, still not looking up, said, "If she needs anything or whatever…from Whitney and I…I don't know what she would need, but we're here or whatever. I mean, we don't live that far from where she's staying right? If she needs a ride somewhere or something…God, I'm so awkward. I just mean-"

"I know what you mean," I told him softly. "Thank you."

He nodded slightly. "I'm just, you know, off during the day. Morning and some of the afternoon. So, just, if you need someone to sit with her or whatever, I'd be cool with it."

"Thank you. I'll mention it to Owen."

"It's just a shitty situation or whatever. One of my aunts died of, like, cancer or whatever, so I get it. I mean, I didn't really like her, but it's different you know? When it's a kid? Then it really is shit."

"Yeah," I sighed. "It is."

So we were silent again, Lucas going back to his phone and me staring at the television. Eventually he got up, tossing the remote at me, before going over to the bedroom door.

"Whit," he began, opening it up. "I'm hungry. I was promised that you would make me food. I mean, I'm totally for you and your sister making amends or whatever, but not at my expense."

"I did not promise you food," I heard my sister say from the bedroom.

"When I got here, you said that I could watch TV with you and-"

"You woke up here, stupid."

"Well, when I woke up-"

"I made you breakfast."

"…I want dinner. Before I go."

"Where you going? Aren't you off?"

"So? You didn't think I was staying with you today, did you?"

"Kind of."

"I'll come back tonight, but I'm gong out. I'm meeting up with some of my friends to-"

"To hit on women?"

"Whitney," he reprimanded. "You should know that I don't believe in beating on women."

"You know what I meant."

He ignored that. "I'm hungry. Come make me something. Please? I'll do anything you want."

"Will you leave me alone for the rest of the day and tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"And not come over at all?"

"Is that what you want?"

"At the moment? Yeah, I do."

"Then yes." He paused. "Except for when you're at work. Then I'm going to come over and use your TV. And I'll probably come back at night to, you know, get what's mine or whatever."

"Go away, Lucas."

"But-"

"What do you want me to make you?" I heard Whitney get up from the bed then before quickly coming out of the room. When she passed, Lucas tried to grab her arm, but she just pushed passed him and into the kitchen. "Grilled cheese?"

"I could do that myself."

"Do you want good and slow or fast and crap?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "It's usually you making that decision."

I didn't have to see my sister to know that he got a look for that.

"I don't see why my choosing would matter, as it's always crap."

I saw Lucas make a face. "I want, like, real food."

"Lucas, I'm not-"

"Then can we go out to dinner?"

"Do you have cash for that? When you don't have any to pay for your TV bill?"

"I want burritos. You want burritos?'

"You came and got me to tell me that you want burritos?"

"…Yes."

"Lucas-"

"I love you. And I have some cash on my dresser on home. Tips. I can go get those and go get us some burritos." He kept staring at her as he called out, "Annabel, you want burritos?"

"I guess so. I have some mon-"

"Other random sister whose name deludes me, do you want burritos?"

"What did he just call me?" Kirsten came out of the bedroom with a frown on her face.

"Eludes you, stupid." Whitney came out of the kitchen then and over to her boyfriend. She hit him, though she just as quickly moved to hug him. I rarely saw her do this and frowned at her.

"Where's Owen?" Kirsten asked me, making a face at Whitney and her boyfriend.

"He went to go be with Mallory. To see if she was up for visitors first."

"Great. So we're stuck here."

"We call all pile into the impala," Lucas suggested. "Go get burritos."

"I don't want stupid burritos," Kirsten said, making a face at him. Whitney, who had moved her arms to his neck, was still holding onto him.

"Then you and Whit can stay here. Annabel and I'll go get burritos."

"I don't want a burrito, Lucas." She let him go then, after pressing a kiss to his neck. "I don't-"

"You want a taco? Nachos? What?"

"Nothing. I'm not hungry."

He made a face then. "Fine. Then Annabel and I'll go get burritos. You other two though suck. And I mean that."

She kissed him again before saying, "Seriously though, can you afford burritos?"

"I'm not broke, baby. TV's just expensive." He patted her on the shoulder then, smiling. "I'll be back, okay. I'm taking your younger sister."

I thought Whitney would cut her eyes, but she didn't. I guess that day when we talked, she had realized something. Something as simple as I wasn't after her boyfriend.

"'kay," she sighed before looking passed him at Kirsten. "We need to finish talking anyways."

So after they said goodbye and we had stopped by Lucas' apartment for some cash, we headed out to his car.

"So you really do let Whitney drive this thing?" I asked him as we got in.

"Huh?"

"She drove it to our parents' house after-"

"Oh, yeah, she drives it all the time. Either that or I drop her off at work. And hardly ever that, because I don't like getting up in the morning. So yeah, she drives it." He gave me a funny look. "What? You think when she doesn't have one of you guys' cars, I let her ride the bus? Nah, I take better care of my chick than that. What kind of guy do you think I am?"

"Well, you joke a lot-"

"Yeah, I joke. I've gone without shit before for her. When she's low on cash and don't wanna go crawling back to her dad for cash, she comes to me. She takes about half my income now. Not even for gifts or whatever. Just living. I got to make sure she's got food and water and gas money and shit. She's almost like having a kid, she's so freaking needy."

"Sorry. I was just-"

"You just see us when we're fighting, is all I'm saying. When we're alone and not acting out or whatever, we're good. Before you guys showed up, we were on the couch, just chilling and watching TV. Like it was nothing. We were fine. That's just how we are."

If I had to picture my sister with someone, I always saw her with someone laidback. Someone like her. If I had to put Lucas with someone, I'd put him with Kirsten, I guess. Just not Whitney.

When we got in the car and he cranked it, music immediately blasted from the radio. I expected him to turn it down like Owen would do, but he didn't, only immediately pulled his pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit up. He offered me one before making a face.

"Do you even smoke?" he asked before shaking his own head and putting the pack back in his pocket. "Sorry. I forget sometimes that you're, you know, a kid."

"I'm not a kid," I told him with a frown. "I'm eighteen now."

"You're Whitney's baby sister. You're a kid."

"I am not."

"You even look like a kid."

"No, I don't."

"I wouldn't even date someone your age."

"Oh, whatever."

"Aren't you still, like, in high school?"

"For now," I told him flippantly, annoyed. Then, reaching forwards, I asked, "Can I turn it down?"

"If you want," he told me with a shrug before pulling out of the parking lot. "I guess. I don't care."

Once the music was on a volume that wouldn't completely kill my eardrums, I said, "Where are we going?"

"Taco Bell. Duh."

"Duh."

"So, uh, hey, are your parents really mad at me or what?" he asked after a moment, effectively changing the subject. "Like your dad or mom or whatever?"

Or whatever. I just looked at him though.

"Dad's pretty pissed, honestly."

"Yeah, I figured."

"Mom likes you though. And she's afraid that we've hurt your feelings and that you won't come back. I think she really just doesn't want to scare Whitney off."

"I didn't tell Whitney to leave with me at the restaurant or whatever. I told her I was going and she could catch a ride with one of y'all. She chose me. I didn't force her."

"I didn't say you did," I told him softly, hearing the anger rising back into his voice slowly. I was learning that I didn't like the sound of it when he was angry. "She's really, like, in love with you or whatever. She'd do anything for you, you know. She won't say that she will, but she's never really…had a guy that's into her like you are."

He snorted then. "She ain't looking right then. Every guy at the club would do anything for her-"

"For the night. Or whatever." I blushed then, not being able to help it. "You actually put up with her. Very well."

"She's fun. That's what you don't get."

"What do you mean? Fun?"

"She's great," he told me, his tone changing once again to his normal jolly one. "You never know about her, you know? One minute we're getting ready to go out and she's pissed or whatever, the next she's fine again and wants to go everywhere. Other times were just laying in bed, about to go to sleep and she's fine with me, the next she's trying to kick me out or trying to leave to go back to her place. She's, you know, the most fun I've ever had. I love her. I legitimately love her."

I don't think I had heard him say that aloud before. Or at least never heard him mean it as much as he seemed to in that moment.

"I think she loves you too," I told him, more or less to keep him happy. I was pretty certain she did anyways, so I wasn't lying. "She's just reserved. I mean, she doesn't even tell me that she loves me."

"Oh, no, don't worry. She likes you a lot more than the other one," he assured me. Then, glancing at me before back at the road, he said, "She told me, you know, about what happened to you or whatever."

And the blush was back. "O-Oh."

"Oh, nah, don't worry or nothing. I only mean that, you know, I've been taking care of my sisters my whole life. That's what you do." He reached over then, ruffling my hair quickly, like I was a dog or something. I don't think I'll ever do that to Kuma again, because it sucks. "You've practically got a brother now, alright? So stop being so nervous about shit all the fucking time. You need something or someone's giving you trouble, I'm right here, alright?"

I grinned at him then, even though he had practically given me a noogie. "Alright."

* * *

"So you don't do it anymore?"

"Well, no, I decided to stop for school."

"But why? You're, like, super pretty. I'm sure you could have done it forever."

And that's where Mallory had my sister. Hook, line, and sinker.

The thing was, Mallory didn't know Kirsten too well. Whitney either, but at least Whitney still lived close. She had met her a handful of times and Whitney would always share a few modeling stories for her, when cajoled enough. And though she loved me to death, literally at times, Kirsten and Whitney were far more interesting to Mallory. I was a Lakeview model, fine. And I had a commercial that didn't even run anymore, whatever. But Whitney and Kirsten? They were the real deal and as close as she had ever gotten.

So I had to sit there then and listen to Kirsten basically give her life story. Basically. I was up on the bed with Mallory, who had practically pulled me down onto it, her quickly moving to cuddle up against me. I'm sure she had felt abandoned by me, as I hadn't seen her in a good number of weeks, but since she had migrated back to her aunt's house, I really had a hard time getting out there to see her. I was pretty sure she understood.

Owen, who had come into the room with us, had moved on to his phone by that point. I was pretty sure he was texting Rolly or something, as he was smiling slightly. Either that or Clarissa. Ugh. I didn't even want to think about that at the moment.

"-but film is much more…artistic, you know?" Kirsten was going on. Good. At least we had caught up to her current life. "Not to mention, it's a cutthroat world, modeling. And I like to eat. I'm not into that whole skipping meals garb."

I gave her a look, but she wasn't really talking about Whitney. Just in general.

"I just think it would be so, like, amazing, you know? To even be able to say that," Mallory gushed.

"To say what?" Kirsten asked as I stroked her arm.

"That you were a model. No matter what happens, you can always say that. All of you can." She was smiling, but she was pale. "Forever."

Owen looked up at me from his phone then and I stared blankly back at him. Forever. It wasn't a good word, really. It was an unrealistic word. For the mortal, anyways.

Kirsten grinned back at Mallory though because she didn't know. Not like we knew.

When it was time to go, Owen and Kirsten left the room first, after telling her goodbye. I just sat there on the bed with her, not really wanting to leave just then.

"You'll come back, right, Annabel?" Mallory asked me softly after they left the room. "You'll come see me again?"

"Sure. Maybe next time Whitney can-"

"I don't care. I just want you to come."

"I'll come see you on Friday, okay?" I told her then. How could I not? When she said something like that? "If not before."

"And maybe you can bring your puppy."

I hesitated. "Owen told me that-"

"I don't care what Owen says. I wan tot see him."

"Well," I said slowly. "He basically is your nephew."

That excited her and I was excited to make her excited, which was always good. Because if I had earned a brother in Lucas, she had earned a sister in me a long time ago.

Owen's mother tried to get us to stay for dinner, which I almost accept because Cam was out and I could tell she was lonely. Owen really didn't want vegan food though and it showed. Not to mention I was mostly full from my burritos. And we did need to get back into Lakeview, as we had school in the morning. Kirsten seemed very interested in her though and promised to stop by her shop sometime.

I'm afraid that Teresa will like her better than me. Does that make me a bad person?

"Thanks for that," Owen told me on the way back into town.

"For what?"

"For being with her. She really likes you. Both of you."

"I didn't do it for you, Owen," I told him. "I honestly love Mallory."

"Yeah, and I mean, she was honestly interested in modeling," Kirsten spoke up from the backseat. "She's darling anyways."

That made him happy, but I could tell that he was tired still and just wanted to get home. He had burned his whole off day and hadn't gotten any rest yet.

Kuma was the most happy I'd seen him when I got home. Owen hadn't come in with me, so I was ready to give him my whole, uninvited attention. And oh boy did he need it.

"You spanked him?"

"That's what you do to dogs when they-"

"Mom! Dad! Your stupid brother attacked my dog!"

"Annabel-"

"Dad!" I found him in the living room, watching TV. "He hit him. He hit my baby."

Dad hardly looked away, just took another sip of his beer. "I've spanked him too."

"What?"

"That's how they learn, Annabel. You have to-"

"No, it's not." I held Kuma to me, who just whined slightly. "You didn't spank me."

"And look how that turned out," Uncle Dan mumbled as he came back into the living room carrying a bowl of chips. Dad snorted at that, but didn't look away from the television.

"He's _my_ dog," I reminded them then. "Not yours, Dad. You can't-"

"Then how about you be here for him, Annabel? When he's ripping something up or biting or pissing or shitting? Huh? How about that? You were gone. I had to clean up the little brat's mess. How about a thank you? Huh? How about you come hug me and kiss me and tell me what a wonderful dad I am for doing that when you stayed out all day-"

"Why the heck would I be home anyways?" I was annoyed now. I mean, God, had he been hitting Kuma from the beginning? He was a baby! He didn't understand right from wrong. "All you ever do is get drunk and hangout with stupid Uncle Dan. Either that or yell about Kirsten or Whitney or Mom or about how no one respects you. The only one I want to be around is my dog and you're hitting him? Because he did what a dog does? Whatever, Dad."

It was when I turned to leave that I saw Kirsten standing there, in the doorway still, having just finished taking off her coat and boots. I could tell by the little victorious smile on her face that she thought she had won, that my father had just lost his final daughter, the final nail in the coffin as far as his home support went. And I don't know, maybe she was right.

I mean, I really, really love my dog.

* * *

I woke with a start around three in the morning. There was someone standing at my bed side. I would have screamed, had I not realized quickly who it was.

"Dad?"

He just dropped to his knees there, at the edge of my bed, right next to my face. Kuma, who was curled up by my knees, whined in his sleep, but didn't come to my rescue.

"You," he began, staring flatly into my eyes as he rested his head on my bed, "are one of the most disrespectful children in the world."

"Dad-"

"Shhh." He reached out to stroke my face. "My little baby. Did I hurt your feelings? I'm sorry. Shhh."

He was most certainly drunk. And I knew it was my uncle who had been getting him that way. I remembered as a kid that my dad and uncle were really fun when they were together. Always. My mother was just stomping on their fun when she shooed them from the house or yelled at them for coming home a three in the morning bearing fast food.

I knew now, of course, as I was older that they were drunk. That's what my mother had always meant when she told me my uncle was no good and he was bad for my father. I wondered sometimes if those business trips they used to go on, that he always told me that I cried the whole time he was gone? If they were really business trips. If they weren't just drinking trips. Cheating trips. If anyone knew, they were talking.

But then again, no one told me I was almost aborted.

"Your puppy's alright. He can poop and shit and…and…in my house. I don't care none. My little baby. I love you. I love you, Annabel. Little baby."

"Dad," I whispered softly, not moving in the slightest. "I love you too, but you need to go to bed."

He giggled at that. Literally giggled. Still, he kept stroking my face.

"I love you."

"Dad, I have school in the morning. And a radio show."

He didn't like that. "You want me to leave?"

"No, I-"

"Good." He moved to get into bed with me then. "You-"

"What are you doing in here, Drew?"

When my bedroom door opened again, Mom was standing there. Even though it was dark, I knew that she was frowning. Dad wasn't deterred.

"Go 'way, Grace," he grumbled, as he finally just stood instead of getting onto the bed. "No one-"

"Leave her alone. Now."

"I wasn't-"

"Now, Drew."

"Why don't you-"

Kuma started barking then. He had yet to wake up and they had finally disturbed him. In his defense, I never got him to be a watch dog.

"Look what you did," I told them, reaching down to pull Kuma to me in the dark. He was scared. "Dad, just go to bed. Please."

He was rather hurt by my request, I could tell, but I didn't care. I really wanted both of them gone so I could go back to sleep. I had to be up in a few hours.

Once Dad was gone, Mom came further into the room.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, Mom. He was just-"

"Is your dog alright?"

Kuma had calmed down some and was laying next to my head on my pillow.

"Yeah. Dad wasn't trying to cause trouble. Only-"

"I know." She sighed slightly before turning back around. "Go back to bed, Annabel. He won't bother you again."

The only problem was that after she left, I couldn't go back to sleep. This was due in part to the fact that I could hear them still, arguing in their bedroom I presumed. At this point, I really don't get what they're getting out of being together.

* * *

"You know, your scars really aren't that bad anymore."

"You don't think?"

I shook my head at Owen as I stared down at his hand, inspecting the marks left from the time he punched the mirror and windows. "No. They blend in really well. I mean, I can see them because I know that they're there and I'm looking for them, but a normal person wouldn't be able to find them."

"That's great," Owen told me as he stared down at his fist as well. "I mean, I wouldn't have cared if you could see them, but all the better that you can't."

"Just so long as you keep from hitting things again."

"I can try," he said, opening and closing his fist then, as if flexing it or something. "So, uh, hey, Mallory said that you told her you were spending Friday night hanging out with her."

"I am."

"Well, I work, so-"

"I'll just drive down to Cam's to see her." Then I paused. "I mean, if I'm allowed to."

"Of course you are. She's already told Mom and Cam that you were."

"Are you okay with me doing it?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He smiled at me. "She's real excited."

"I offered to have Whitney come too, but she told me no, that she just wanted me."

"So what's the situation on your parents and Whitney anyways?" he asked then as I let go of his hand. We were sitting on our wall, eating lunch. "Are they still fighting?"

"I don't know," I said with a roll of my eyes. "Lucas and I have been texting though."

He paused then. "About?"

"Stuff. We listen to some of the same bands and he really wants to go see that movie that you said you wouldn't take me to. He said that I could go with him and Whitney, if I wanted."

"Or just him."

"Owen-"

"And what did Whitney say about it?"

"About the movie? I guess she wants to go see it too."

"No, Annabel. About the two of you texting?"

"She's the one who gave him my number, Owen. It's not like I gave it to him."

I knew that he was stuck then. If Whitney was willing to just let things go and let me and Lucas hang around one another, then why shouldn't he?

"And Whitney told me that instead of driving back home after hanging out with Mallory Friday night that I could crash at her place," I went on to tell him. "She says that Lucas works and that she'll be out anyways, so I can just come stay at her place and when her and Lucas get back, they'll just head to his."

"That's cool of them."

"Yeah, it is."

"Well, Saturday morning, I'll come up to see Mallory and we can meet up for lunch afterwards, okay?"

"That actually works out," I told him. "You could give me a ride back to Lakeview and then Whitney can keep my car for awhile. Or Mom's, probably. I'll just drive that one, so I can keep mine."

"Yeah. All planned out, huh?" Owen looked pretty happy right then, which wasn't his normal mood as of late. I couldn't help but to smile back at him.

I felt awkward after that though, as neither of us had much to say. This had been happening a lot recently too, though I think it's just from the fact that the two of us spend so much time together. Everyone always told us this would happen, but I knew that it wouldn't last, so that was okay. Once the year ends, I'll go to college and then we'll have a lot to talk about.

…or at least that's what I'm hoping for.

After school, Owen dropped me at my house, where I was happy to find that Kirsten had decided to hold another meetings of sorts with our other sister.

They were in the kitchen when I found them, neither seeming to enjoy themselves much as they sat across from each other, apparently having an intense conversation.

"Come sit down," Kirsten invited almost immediately. I was headed over the fridge to get a snack. "Whitney tells me that you're part of the club now."

"Part of what club?" I asked, pulling a coke out and taking a sip.

"The club you only get into once and can't get back out of."

I practically snorted the coke through my nose. Then I turned to glare at Whitney. "You told her I had sex with Owen?"

"Uh, yeah," Whitney said, making a face at me. "I assumed you had told her, but apparently not."

"It's not that big of a deal," Kirsten told me with an eye roll. "You know, unless he's that _big_ of a deal. Which I find doubtful."

"Why would you say that?" Whitney asked, making a face. "Proportions and all."

"Proportions is a lie."

"You-"

"Stop being disgusting," I told them, blushing deeply. Suddenly, I wasn't so hungry anymore.

"Oh, Annabel, grow up," Kirsten told me. "It's just sex."

"Leave her alone, Kirsten," Whitney said with an eye roll. "Not everyone's as big a whore as you."

"I am not even close to a whore. And last time I checked, you've slept with more than one person too."

"Not nearly as many as you."

"Once you get passed five, it's all the same."

"Well, Luke is number four, so-"

"Really?"

They both glanced over at me then, but it was Whitney who rolled her eyes.

"Yes, really."

"Who are the other three then?" I asked, frowning.

"You've really told her nothing?" Kirsten made a tsking noise. "And here I thought the two of you had been bonding."

"So what?" I asked. "Both of you know exactly who the others been with?"

"I know all who Whitney's been with."

"And Kirsten's list is too extensive."

"Oh, shut up, Whitney. It is not that long."

"Yeah, not including all the handjobs you gave out in high school."

"Why would you ever include those in anything? They clearly don't count."

"Clearly."

I just stared at the two of them before saying, "Who are the other three, Whitney?"

"Just people."

"Tell her about New York," Kirsten said then. "Sit down, Annabel. Whitney's going to tell you about _John_."

"Shut up," Whitney said, making a face. "I don't-"

"Who was John?"

"No, no, Annabel, you have to say it like me. _John_."

"Shut up, Kirsten."

"Tell me," I said, going to sit at the table now, in between them. "Who's John?"

"_John_."

"He was a guy that I was seeing. That's all," Whitney said. "And he was a real dick, so-"

"He really was," Kirsten told me with a nod of his head. "I mean, I wouldn't even date him. I mean, he was hot enough for me to hook up with him, but-"

"Shut up, Kirsten," Whitney repeated, which seemed to be her mantra at the moment.

"He always wore this really sexy suits. He was a business man or something. What did he do again, Whitney?"

"He worked for his father's company. I don't remember what they made."

"Oh, you suddenly don't remember?"

"No, Kirsten, I don't."

"Why were you with him if he was a dick?" I asked then, glancing back and forth between them.

"I don't know, Annabel. It was complicated."

"He wasn't even good in the sack," Kirsten told me then, which brought the blush right back up.

"How would you know?"

"I told you, we tell each other most everything. Or we did."

"He was just something to do when I was in New York," Whitney told me.

"Or someone to do."

"Shut up, Kir-"

"Why did you guys break up?" I asked.

"They weren't even really together," Kirsten told me. "Or at least that's what he told her when she found out that he was, like, sleeping around or whatever."

I looked at Whitney then, but she was just glaring at Kirsten. "Is that why you won't call Lucas your boyfriend? Or always think that he's going to cheat on you?"

"Shut up, Annabel. Why don't you both just shut up?"

"John was a douche," Kirsten said then, not singing his name in the way that she usually did. "He was just using you for sex, Whitney. It's different with Lucas, I'm sure."

"Why are you so sure of that? That's how we got together. He was supposed to just be a mistake, a stupid one night stand, but he wouldn't leave me alone."

"Well, you guys do live next to each other," I pointed out.

"He was bothering me before we even hooked up," she said. "And then we met up at a club one night and it just…happened. And then he didn't want me to leave. He made me stay the freaking night with him. He even pretended to need to be up at five in the morning like I do so I wouldn't leave."

"How'd that work?"

Whitney made a face at me, as if that were a silly question. I mean, she was the one that just admitted to hooking up with a stranger.

"I was leaving to head back and he told me that I could stay. When I told him I had to get up in the morning, he asked what time. When I told him, he said he had to get up at the same and his alarm would go off to get us up. So I stayed. Then, when I got up, I found out he waited till I was asleep to set the alarm for me."

"He really wanted you," Kirsten remarked, almost sarcastically.

"Yeah, well, after that he wouldn't leave me alone. I thought he would. I mean, he had gotten what he wanted. But he kept…coming over. Or making me dinner. Or asking me to make him dinner. Or inviting me to come watch him bartend which, by the way, sucks ass."

"You sure do it enough," I told her.

"It's called making someone feel good about themselves, Annabel," she told me. "Lucas is really proud of his job. For some dumb reason, he really thinks it's a great one. Like he's accomplished something. He likes to give me tip money, you know? He leaves it all out on his dresser. You saw it, when you guys got the burritos? And when I need some, he just tells me to take what I need. 'cause he's proud of his work."

"That's not being proud of your work, Whit," Kirsten told her then, sounding more serious for a moment. "That's called loving you. And if you keep acting like a bitch when he shows it, then he's going to stop showing it."

"Oh, and showing you how much is loves you is when Brian's kicking you out of the apartment? Or yelling at you? Or-"

"We're not talking about me. We're talking about Lucas."

"Actually, we were talking about the three guys that weren't Lucas," I corrected them both. "So we've covered Dick."

"John," Whitney corrected.

"No, his name should be Dick."

"Now you're catching on," Kirsten congratulated.

"Then there was Alec," Whitney said. "And-"

"_Nathan._"

"Is that just your thing?" I asked, making a face at the way Kirsten said the guy's name.

"Alec was senior year," Whitney told me, ignoring our oldest sister. "It was only, like, three times. And one of those times was just me letting him finger me."

"Ew."

"Oh, grow up," Kirsten chided. "And I told you that those didn't count anyways, Whitney."

"Then Nathan was the end of freshman year. Kirsten took me to a party with her and Nathan was her boyfriend's younger brother. He was a sophomore."

"You let him take your-"

"It was a lapse in judgment. Kirsten ditched me and I had never gotten drunk before. And then he didn't call and his brother broke up with Kirsten-"

"I broke up with him," she corrected.

"Whatever. It was bad."

"What about that guy that you brought home then?" I asked. "That boyfriend? You never-"

"No," she told me with a roll of her eyes. "I didn't."

"Oh."

"And I don't know why any of that matters. Other than John-"

"_John_."

"-they were all stupid high school guys. Lucas is honestly the best I've ever been with."

"Well, his competition was drunk hook ups, inexperienced teenagers, and a really bad dick whose cologne stank to the high heavens."

"Do you ever see him anymore?" Whitney asked then. "John?"

"Mmmhmm. Every time I see him out, I make sure to, you know, make the tiny sign to the woman he's with." Kirsten made a gesture with her hands. "Just to make sure they know what they're getting."

Whitney rolled her eyes. "He was average. Well, a little under."

"Oh, so you're defending him now?"

"No. I hope I never see him again."

"So no New York hookups while you're down there for my wedding?"

"Definitely not. Luke might be coming, by the way."

"Might? Whitney, I need a definite-"

"He doesn't know yet. Work and all."

"Oh, like the bar can't do without him for one day."

"He doesn't have money like Mom and Dad, Kirsten. He can't just, you know, go to New York. He has to pay for a hotel room, plane tickets-"

"Dad wont pay for-"

"Lucas won't want him to. He's a man. Not a boy, like Owen, Annabel," she told me. "Although, he did tell me that we haven't had our first vacation together and if he could figure it all out, he'd like to make this it."

"That cute and everything, Whitney," Kirsten began, getting her uppity tone back. "But its my wedding day. Not your vacation. And as one of my bridesmaids-"

"Oh, shove it up your-"

"Are we going to go over who you've slept with, Kirsten?" I asked, more to break up their impending fight than anything else. "Or what?"

That made them both look at me. Then, slowly, Kirsten reached out to grab her drink and take a long sip.

"I'd rather go over why Whitney only dated white guys and then suddenly, I get back to Lakeview to find her all over a black dude."

"It's not even like that," Whitney told her, making a face. "It's not like I chose him or something or whatever. I was attracted to him. Just like I was John. It's not a…race thing or a mental thing or…I like Lucas. He's…different than any of the other guys I've dated. He's funny, in his own way, and he's really, really passionate about things. Not like John was. Not in that superficial way. Where you're just a little narcissist and want things to go your way always. Lucas really wants people to be proud of him. Especially his family."

"Doesn't hurt that he's hot, does it?" Kirsten said in almost a snide manner.

"It doesn't," Whitney sad. "But then again, we can't all be with Owen."

I frowned when the two of them started cackling. "Owen isn't ugly."

"No one said he was," Kirsten assured me.

"But no one has ever called him hot either."

"He's a lot better than stupid Brian."

"Shut up."

"That, I actually agree with," Whitney said. "Brian's a douche."

"Shut up, Whitney."

"He is. I don't like him."

"Well, you didn't listen to me about John so-"

"And look how that turned out."

"Brian's okay," I said then, slowly. "But I wouldn't marry him, I don't think."

"I think the baby's already decided that for me."

"I wouldn't marry Owen if I got pregnant."

"You're eighteen," Kirsten told me. "You don't need to marry someone."

"And you do?" Whitney asked. "I wouldn't get married to Lucas either."

"Yeah, well, thank God."

"Kirsten-"

"Maybe he doesn't want to marry you. Ever think about that?" Kirsten laughed at the expression on Whitney's face. "You've guys have been together for over six months, Whit. You haven't even talked about?"

"No. I don't ever want to get married. And as far as I know, neither does he. He didn't even have a steady girlfriend before me."

"Oh, because that's trustworthy."

"Shut up, Kirsten. I mean it this time."

"Where is he anyways?" Kirsten asked. "Your stupid little boyfriend?"

"He's at his apartment. He's pissed because I decided to spend today talking with you instead of hanging out with him. So if we're all done here-"

"Are we on the same page about what we talked about before?" Kirsten asked.

"Crystal clear."

With that, my oldest sister took her diet soda with her as she stood and left us behind. It wasn't until she was up the stairs that Whitney moved to stand too. I caught her hand though.

"Hey, Whit?"

She slowly sat back down, staring at me. "What?"

"Since you guys were already talking about…stuff…can I…ask you something?"

"If it's about one of those stupid guys-"

"No, no," I said, shaking my head. "I just didn't want to, you know, say it in front of Kirsten."

That got her attention.

"What's up?"

"It's kind of about…Owen."

She stared at me for a minute. "If this is about his sister, Annabel, maybe you should talk to-"

"No, not that. It's…I don't…" I took a deep breath before letting it out. "I don't like having…sex with him. At all."

She just stared at me for a minute after that. "Like you don't want to and he's…forcing you to or-"

"No," I said quickly, frowning at the thought. "No, it's not that. I just…he really wants to. A lot. And I don't-"

"Annabel," she sighed, shaking her head. "You should have never slept with him to begin with. He's a high school boy. He's going to want to keep having sex now."

"I didn't think that it would…you know."

"Suck so bad?"

"Well yeah."

She sighed, shifting in her chair then. "Are you wanting me to, like, tell you how to tell him to fuck off? Or are you-"

"How do I make it better?"

"I really think Kirsten-"

"Please, Whitney?"

She took a deep breath before looking me in the eyes once more. "How many times have you guys had sex? Less than ten?"

"Yeah," I said slowly. "But we were, you know, doing other things before. But Kirsten said those don't count, so-"

"Do you…finish? When you guys are actually having sex?"

"No. It's just…awkward and uncomfortable. And then his mother walked in on us once when I was trying to, you know, um…ride him I guess and-"

Whitney groaned. "God, you're making me feel awkward."

"It was very awkward."

"And he wants to have sex again then, I'm guessing?"

"Well, he kind of wants to all the time."

"Welcome to life, Annabel."

"Was it ever bad for you?" I asked her. "You guys said it was with John."

"It was bad most of the time with John," she corrected me. "I mean I never, like…it wasn't…Annabel."

"What?"

"John was fine, I guess. He was just…"

"Small?"

"He wasn't small. Kirsten's just being Kirsten." She rolled her eyes. "He just was, you know, focused on himself. On getting off."

"Then what did you do to-"

"It wasn't really, really good until Lucas," she told me. "I don't have to fake anything with him. He likes to…try things, Annabel. Stuff that a high school kid won't do. Sex for Owen right now is probably the one thing he has going for him. You learn from…getting older. The more sex the two of you have, the more you'll like it. Maybe."

"You said you didn't until Lucas."

"I would rather have sex with Lucas than any of the other guys I've been with, is what I meant."

"So you're saying it's the person, right?"

"No, Annabel. Not exactly." She sighed. "What I'm saying is that…you're the first girl that he's been with, right? So right now, he can really on focus on himself. I mean, that's just how it is. Most high school guys are like that. Trust me."

"But-"

"You wanna get off, Annabel, you're going to have to figure it out for yourself." She stood then. "And that is something that I never want to talk about with you. Ever."

* * *

"Where were you and Mom this afternoon?"

"We went out to go talk," Dad told me simply as I sat down on the couch next to him. Kuma quickly jumped up there as well, curling up on the far end. "About some things. Your sisters were here though, right? And your uncle?"

"Kirsten and Whitney were," I told him. "But I haven't seen Uncle Dan since last night."

"Hmmm."

Kuma whined slightly and I reached down to rub his back.

"I'm spending the night at Whitney's on Friday," I told my father. That made him stiffen and look away from the TV.

"For what?"

I tried to think of why he would think that was so odd, but then I remembered he thought that I legitimately had a crush on Lucas.

"I'm seeing Owen's sister. She lives near them right now, with her aunt. I'm going after school and it'll be late before I leave. Whitney said I could stay with her at her apartment."

He shook his head. "If you're telling me the truth, then fine."

"I am."

"I believe you," he assured me. "I can't believe that you would use a sick little girl in some pawn to go off and do something wrong."

"I'm honestly not."

"Alright then." He cleared his throat before glancing at me. "I did want to tell you something though."

"What?"

"I'm…sorry about last night. I was just-"

"It's whatever."

"No, Annabel. I shouldn't have come into your room last night. I-"

"Just don't hit Kuma anymore."

"Annabel, that's how you train a dog."

"No," I told him with a shake of my head. "You speak forcefully to him and-"

"Oh, come off it. God, you're killing me, kid."

I gave him a look. "He's my dog. I-"

"It's my house, Annabel. If he were an outside dog, fine, I wouldn't care. But-"

"So you want me to train him then? If I can train him, will you not hit him anymore?"

He stared at me. "You don't know anything about training a dog."

"But what if I found someone to?"

"Who? Your boyfriend?"

I shrugged. "He's had pets before."

"I just don't want this dog taking over my house, Annabel," my father told me simply. "And I refuse to let it happen. Whatever that entails, fine."

Whatever that entails. That's the problem with everyone in my family. We're an ends justify the means kind of a family, by far. Everyone can just turn a blind eye to things, so long as they turn out okay. We can ignore something until it bubbles over and we have to put up with it. Everyone knew for a long time that Whitney was sick before anyone did anything. My parents knew that I was different, that I was acting odd, that I had lost all of my friends the summer after the Cash incident, but no one cared. Just so long as we can go on looking happy, seemingly fine, then that's quite alright with everyone.

But what did everything coming up entail? Kirsten getting married, apparently. Having a baby. Whitney was going on with her life just fine, apparently with Lucas now. I had less than six months, I'd be away from Lakeview. Far away from Lakeview, hopefully. And then what? The way it's going now, when I got back, my parents would be well on their way to a divorce, if things didn't get worked out soon. That's what this all entailed. It just seems like no one wants to say it. I mean, really, my dog should be the last of his worries.

"Where's your boyfriend tonight?"

I glanced at him. "Work. Home. I dunno. He might be out with Rolly."

"Rolly. We hate him now, right?"

"Yeah, we do."

He laughed then, making me look up at him.

"What?"

"It's just…" He sighed slightly. "I know more about your life this past year than I have in probably ten years."

"Yeah," I sighed. And I knew more about his too.

He let out a long groan then, looking back at the TV. "Do you know what your mother told me? When you came downstairs that day and told us what you did?"

"What are you talking about, Dad?"

"When you came downstairs and told us about what that…_guy_ did to you," he clarified, his jaw tensing at the memory. "After your sisters went upstairs with you, before she followed, she told me that it was my fault. That I should have…noticed how you'd changed after. That I was the one who dismiss everything with you girls at theatrics or overly emotional problems."

"Dad, it wasn't-"

"So I decided then, after everything, that I needed to be more…I don't know…caring? I guess would be the word. And it seems to have backfired with both your sisters. They don't want me. They don't need me. I don't think they ever did. They always wanted your mother more than me. And now you're going to leave too. Soon. So I just…I don't want you to get mad at me, like your sisters, before you go."

I stared at him then, for a moment or two. Slowly, I said, "I'm not Whitney and Kirsten."

"I know."

"I'm not going to say I hate you or something, like they do. I doubt there's anything you could actually do to me to make me believe that." I looked up at him. "I don't think they hate you either, really."

"They don't," he agreed.

So I sat there with my father because I had nothing better to do. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever have a life.

* * *

"Annabel, I let you stay here alone so you could have my bed. You don't have to sleep on the couch. Don't worry, I've washed the sheets, just for you."

"I'll go to bed," I assured Whitney as she came into the apartment. "It's Friday night. I'm just watching TV."

"It's actually Saturday morning now," she told me. "And Luke and I will be back here in the morning around seven. I have to get ready for work and he needs breakfast, but doesn't have any food at his place. So when you wake up, he'll probably be here."

"Why are you going to work so late?"

"I have a meeting that I have to go with my boss on. His assistant's gone and I'm going to fill in."

"That's cool."

"Yeah. So I just came to check on you," she told me. "Don't stay up all night."

"I think I already have."

After Whitney left, I went back to doing what I had been before, which was texting Owen while half watching late night television. Unfortunately, while I was texting him, I kind of fell asleep.

Until at seven when I was promptly woken up by my sister and her boyfriend coming in. When she saw me on the couch, Whitney groaned loudly, which is what truly woke me.

"I told you to go to bed," she scolded as Lucas headed into the kitchen to make himself breakfast.

Whining, I moved to sit up slightly. "I was watching TV and just fell asleep. Sorry."

"You hungry?" Lucas asked me as Whitney went to go get ready for work. "I'm making omelets."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"If you guys mess up my apartment, you had better clean it after," Whitney warned as she came out of her bedroom only to go into the bathroom. "I mean it, Lucas."

"She doesn't mean it," he assured me. "She knows that I don't clean up."

Pushing up, I went into the kitchen to go help Lucas with breakfast. "Sorry for staying over here."

"Nah, Whit would have been at my place anyways, her having to go in so late. And we've been staying at my place for the last few days anyways. I got my TV bill paid."

"He has HBO," Whitney said then, as she came out of the bathroom. "Bye, Luke. I'm taking your car."

"Take a bus."

"Luke-"

"Go. I'm kidding. You-"

"You can actually take my car," I told Whitney. "Owen's coming into town and going to take me home this afternoon. I brought mom's car and she said you can keep it for the week."

"Great," Lucas said. "Now I can take my car to go see my side chick. She gets suspicious and shit."

He got a hit to the chest when Whitney came into the kitchen, but she gave him a kiss almost as quickly. All better.

"I'm bringing dinner," Whitney told him as she pulled away, heading towards the door then. "So don't gorge on food or whatever."

"I won't."

"I mean it."

"She doesn't mean it," he told me, winking slightly while she only groaned, finally leaving the apartment. It was then that he said, "You can go back to bed if you want. I won't bother you. I'll probably go back to my place."

"You won't bother me," I said with a shake of my head. "Really. And I'm only here until Owen shows up to take me to lunch."

"That's awhile from now. Surely you're going back to sleep."

"Maybe."

"'cause after I eat, I'm going to bed too," he told me. "Back at my place if you're staying here."

"I am."

"So your boyfriend's sister, she was…good?"

"She was."

"That's good." Lucas grinned at me then. "You know, your mother called Whitney yesterday. Said that she's been talking to your dad and he wants to apologize to me."

I glanced at him. "Really?"

"What? You mean he's not going to be begging for my forgiveness, crying at my feet?"

"I'm sure she's forcing him to do it."

"Yeah, I assumed."

"Are you going to go over and see him?"

"Whit said that they invited us over for dinner sometime next week."

"Dinners don't seem to be going so well as of late."

"No, they don't."

"Are you going to go then?"

"I think I have to. I don't want to fight with the guy. I don't have any reason to. If he hates me, that's his problem. But I'm in the business of arguing with people."

I glanced over at him then. "He's just, you know, got a lot going on right now."

He snorted then before shaking his head at me. "You really love your father, don't you?"

The way he put it made it sound like a bad thing. "Well, yeah."

"It's alright. That's good, actually." He elbowed me gently. "When's your oldest sister gone?"

"Kirsten? Monday."

"Great. I'll come over any time after that."

"What? Why?"

"She freaks me out," he told me. "And I keep getting the feeling that she wants something from me."

"She's trying to use you," I said without thinking.

"Oh yeah?" He was grinning again. "For what?"

"Just…you know. She wants to use you to make Whitney realize that she's better than her."

"Meaning?"

"She wants to get you to, like, hit on her or something."

"Oh." He paused. Then he glanced at me. "Isn't that kind of…vindictive? And harsh? Thought her and Whitney were cool?"

"Not usually."

"I'd do anything for my brother," he told me. "That's how it's supposed to be. Not trying to best each other."

"Yeah."

"So what was Kirsten going to do to me anyways? Huh?" he asked, still amused by the whole thing. "To, like, seduce me or whatever?"

"I don't know," I said. Then I added, "Please don't tell Whitney about it. Then she'll tell Kirsten and Kirsten'll know that I-"

"You're safe." He reached over and ruffled my hair, like he had in the car that day. It was just as annoying as before. "Secrets never hurt no one. But damn, I knew I was fine, but enough to make that chick try to hurt her sister?"

"It wasn't about you," I told him with an eye roll. Something told me that Lucas' ego did not need anymore of a boost than it already had. "It was about getting back at Whitney. Kirsten thinks that she's changed since she got with you. Since she was able to say that she was with you. That she thinks she can defy her now."

"Has she?"

"Has she what?"

"Changed?"

I shrugged. "I don't think so. She's always pretty mean to me."

"Is not."

"Is too. Even around you, she's pretty mean."

"She's…harsh."

"Extremely."

"She loves you, Annabel," he told me then.

"Yeah, I-"

"No, I'm serious." He looked at me. "She talked about you a lot when we first got together. About how upset you were about your parents and your dad cheating and stuff. I knew most everything about you before I met you. I still hardly know anything about Kirsten. She told me once that she felt bad about how much attention she took away from you, when you were, you know, all upset by what that guy did."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm really tired of everyone talking about that all the time. It's done. It's in the past. I want to just move on from it. That's why I want to hurry up and get out of high school and go to college. Where no one knows about it and no one can bring it up."

"Wish granted. If you don't want to talk about it, fine. I'll never mention it again." He ruffled my hair again before moving to slide my omelet off onto a waiting plate. "That's what friends do, Annabel."

I grinned at him finally then and said, "Don't you mean that's what brothers do?"

He was happy then, because I was joking with him. No one ever played along with him really, and I knew how much that must suck. But God, it felt like I spent a lot of my time trying to please others.

"Yeah," he told me. "That is what brothers do."

* * *

**That's it for this one. Another 5 chapter one up next with Owen's point of view. You know, for anyone that actually cares anymore. **


End file.
